Spanish energy company Repsol has reached an agreement with Venezuela's government and state oil firm PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela) to reclaim operational control of its oil assets in the country, with plans to triple production within three years. The deal, signed amid a gradual easing of US sanctions on Venezuela's energy sector, will use oil shipments as a payment mechanism and is intended to shield Repsol from the financial defaults it previously suffered, though it stops short of addressing the roughly $4.55 billion Caracas is said to owe the company. Repsol, which holds a 40% stake in the Venezuelan joint venture Petroquiriquire and has operated in the country since 1993, aims to raise output by 50% in the first year before tripling it, as Washington pushes to revive Venezuelan crude supply amid ongoing Middle East instability.