- The Texas-based corporation could be granted an additional sixty days to wind down its operations in Venezuela.
By Ricardo Vaz
CARACAS, (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Donald Trump administration is considering granting Chevron more time to cease its activities in Venezuela following lobbying efforts by the US oil giant to secure an extension.
In recent days, company CEO Mike Wirth met with several members of Trump’s cabinet before taking part in a larger gathering of oil executives with the president himself. He reportedly argued for an extension of the existing license. According to Bloomberg, the administration will grant the corporation additional time to close its Venezuela activities.
Wirth has repeatedly defended Chevron’s presence in Venezuela but vowed to comply with US Treasury directives.
The White House and Treasury Department have not officially commented, while a Chevron spokesperson only disclosed that firm executives “meet regularly” with US officials to “engage constructively on issues” related to the company’s activities.
In early March, Washington issued General License 41A (GL41A), giving Chevron until April 3 to wind down operations in the Venezuelan oil sector as an escalation of economic pressure against the Caribbean nation.
A Reuters source floated a scenario of a new sanctions policy after the two-month period that would see the US oil giant, and possibly other US corporations, operating in the country while the Treasury Department would target other foreign actors that deal with Venezuela’s oil sector.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to reveal the Chevron lobbying efforts to secure more time before closing its operations in Venezuela. The WSJ’s original report claimed that the Trump administration is “weighing a plan to impose tariffs or other financial penalties” against countries that buy crude from Venezuela.
Following Trump’s electoral victory last November, several think tanks urged officials to leverage energy sanctions to the benefit of US corporations, securing Chevron-type deals for other companies while driving away enterprises from other countries with secondary sanctions.
However, any decision to revert Chevron’s withdrawal or allow further firms into Venezuela is bound to encounter fierce opposition from foreign policy hardliners such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. In a phone call with Wirth, Rubio reportedly insisted on Chevron’s pull-out by the April deadline.
Chevron holds minority stakes in four joint projects with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA that currently produce around 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) combined, roughly a quarter of the South American nation’s total output.
The company’s renewed agreement with PDVSA following its return to the country was not publicly disclosed. Quoted by OilPrice, former Biden administration official Juan González claimed that Venezuela only received taxes and royalties from the joint ventures, estimated at around 50 percent of proceeds. PDVSA’s share of dividends would then be destined to offset existing debts or cover operational costs.
Chevron’s activities in the country were made possible through a sanctions waiver issued by the Biden administration in November 2022 which allowed Chevron to resume crude extraction and export operations from its Venezuela joint ventures.
General License 41 (GL41) was the Biden White House’s only major departure from the first Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” sanctions policy against Venezuela. The South American nation’s all-important oil industry remains heavily constrained by financial sanctions, an export embargo and a raft of other measures aiming to strangle Venezuela’s most important revenue source.
Reuters reported that US authorities could extend GL41A by “at least 60 days.” One quoted source stated that, despite the larger wind-down time frame, there was no possibility of reverting the decision to drive the Texas-based energy multinational out of Venezuela.
For its part, PDVSA is preparing to take over from Chevron the operations at crude upgrader Petropiar. According to Reuters, the state oil firm will ensure diluent supplies and repurpose certain units in order to maintain present output levels above 100,000 bpd.
The Nicolás Maduro government has vowed that the oil industry would continue its recent recovery and appealed for foreign investment.
European companies Repsol (Spain), Eni (Italy) and Maurel & Prom (France), who received a green light from the US Treasury Department to expand operations in Venezuela, are expected to be driven out of the country in the coming weeks as well.
The post Venezuela: Chevron lobbies for extension as Trump weighs new sanctions scenario appeared first on Caribbean News Global.
