The enormous investments that the US and Venezuela have promised from their new oil production deal have brought cautious optimism that Venezuelans face a new period of prosperity after more than a decade of economic and social turmoil.

Oil rose on Friday and are on track for the steepest weekly gain since mid-July as renewed U.S.-Iran tensions heightened concerns over Middle East supply risks.

Chevron, the only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, said it has received additional land in the Orinoco Belt region and plans to double its oil production.

Chevron is expanding its Venezuela oil operations with more than $7 billion in planned investment and new acreage as it targets sharply higher production.

Oil prices remain elevated, with ICE Brent holding above US$95/bbl amid a pickup in hostilities between the US and Iran this week.

The Trump administration’s deal with a private oil company to increase oil production in the South American country could take many years to come to fruition.

The moves higher in retail fuel prices come as crude oil prices keep climbing. After surpassing $97 per barrel Thursday morning, international oil benchmark Brent was now up almost 10% since the beginning of the week.

Oil trading is becoming more accessible to individual investors as smaller futures contracts, ETFs and online brokerages lower longtime barriers to the market.