Halliburton Surges on Plans for Swift Reentry to Venezuelan Market
Shares approach a 52-week high as CEO confirms readiness to rebuild the nation's oil sector under a new US framework for revenue oversight.
Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) shares surged more than 4% in trading Tuesday, touching a new 52-week high as the oilfield services giant confirmed it is preparing for a “swift reentry” into Venezuela’s vast but crippled energy market.
The stock climbed to $33.42, marking a single-day gain of 4.24%, after CEO Jeff Miller expressed confidence in the company’s ability to help revitalize the nation’s oil and gas infrastructure. This follows a dramatic geopolitical shift in the region and a new US policy designed to oversee Venezuelan oil revenue.
Investor optimism is being driven by a significant change in US policy toward Venezuela in early January 2026. Following the reported capture of President Nicolás Maduro, the United States established a new executive order creating a framework for oil companies to potentially return. The policy mandates that revenues from the sale of Venezuelan crude must be deposited into US-controlled accounts designated for funding the reconstruction of the country’s dilapidated energy infrastructure, according to a report from JD Supra.
This development opens a potential path for companies like Halliburton, which ceased all operations in Venezuela in 2020 after tightening US sanctions made it impossible to continue. “We are prepared to mobilize our resources and global network to assist in the revitalization,” Miller was quoted as saying, highlighting the company has retained a network of 600 Venezuelan employees it could activate.
Underscoring its preparations, Halliburton has started posting job openings for positions based in Venezuela, a concrete step first reported by Investing.com. The move signals a clear intent to reestablish a physical presence in the country.
The prize is substantial. Venezuela sits on the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at over 300 billion barrels. However, years of mismanagement, corruption, and a lack of investment under sanctions have caused its production to collapse from a peak of 3.5 million barrels per day (bpd) to around 860,000 bpd as of late 2025. Analysts estimate that restoring production to 2 million bpd could require upwards of $110 billion in new capital investment, a massive opportunity for service providers.
With a market capitalization of nearly $28 billion, Halliburton is one of the few global players with the scale and expertise to tackle such a challenge. The company's stock is now trading near the top of its 52-week range of $18.31 to $33.72, reflecting Wall Street's enthusiasm for the potential revenue stream a Venezuelan reentry would represent.
However, the venture is fraught with immense risk. The political situation in Venezuela remains fluid, and the US sanctions relief is targeted and could be subject to change. The country's energy infrastructure is severely degraded, and any efforts to rebuild will face significant logistical and security challenges. Furthermore, Halliburton would face competition from rivals, including SLB, as well as Chinese and Russian firms that have maintained a presence in the country.
For now, investors are betting that the potential reward outweighs the risk. Halliburton's strategic preparations and the new US oversight on oil revenues have created the most credible path in years for the Houston-based company to return to a market that was once a significant part of its Latin American operations.