CARACAS, April 14 -- US oil giant Chevron and the government of Venezuela signed two deals Monday that will expand oil production in the country, as the country seeks to boost private investment in the sector.

A signing ceremony took place at Miraflores Palace, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez was joined by Chevron Venezuela president Mariano Vela and a number of US dignitaries, including Charge D'affaires Laura Farnsworth Dogu and Assistant Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit.

The deals see Chevron increasing its stake in a joint venture it has with the Venezuelan state oil company, known as PDVSA, that extracts oil from the Orinoco Oil Belt - one of the world's largest oil deposits, according to the US Geological Survey.

In ret...