Return to Venezuela! Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM.US) plans to sign a preliminary agreement, targeting massive oil reserves of 50 billion barrels.

According to people familiar with the matter, Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM.US) is set to sign a preliminary agreement to explore investments in multiple oil fields in Venezuela, which would mark the company's return to the country nearly two decades after exiting. Exxon Mobil Corporation could sign a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA as early as this month to explore an investment deal involving multiple developed and undeveloped oil fields that together hold 50 billion barrels of oil. The company is reportedly interested in regaining control of two giant oil fields it previously held in the Orinoco Belt Petrovictoria and Petromonagas which were nationalized in the mid-2000s, as well as acquiring stakes in two other oil fields in the nearby Carabobo region. Venezuela says its oil reserves stand at about 300 billion barrels, which would make them the largest in the world. Exxon's rival Chevron Corporation signed an agreement earlier this month to invest $7 billion in Venezuela over five years through its local joint ventures, aiming to double production to 600,000 barrels per day; Harold Hamm's Continental Resources also signed a preliminary agreement on Wednesday to explore developing an undeveloped oil field in Anzotegui state.