Continental Resources to develop massive oil patch in Venezuela

Continental Resources on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's state oil company to develop a massive crude patch in the South American nation.

Continental will develop and operate an area of the Orinoco Belt that spans 126,000 acres and possesses an estimated 30 billion barrels of reserves, the company said in a statement. The resource-rich Orinoco Belt contains most of Venezuela's 303 billion barrels of reserves.

Continental plans to advance the MOU into a long-term agreement with Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. in the coming weeks. Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Continental is one of the largest privately held oil and natural gas producers in the world.

The deal comes eight months after the U.S. ousted Venezuela's former President Nicolas Maduro in a military raid. President Donald Trump has called for U.S. oil companies to help develop Venezuela's massive reserves, but most of the publicly traded oil majors are hesitant.

Continental said it undertook an "independent evaluation of opportunities" in Venezuela after Trump called for the industry to invest in the country. Venezuela's reform of the law governing oil production helped Continental make the decision to invest, the company said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.