Chevron Asks US Government for License to Expand Operations in Venezuela
The United States might be set to authorize increased production for Chevron in Venezuela as a result of its ban on oil imports from Russia and the subsequent increase in fuel prices.
According to an article published by the news agency Reuters: “Chevron Corp. is preparing to take operating control of its joint ventures in Venezuela if Washington relaxes sanctions on Caracas to boost crude supplies after banning Russia’s oil imports.”
Chevron has started putting a team together to market oil from Venezuela, and once they get approval from the US, they could expand the four joint ventures they already share with state-owned PDVSA.
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Such a measure would recover the production and export of crude oil from Venezuela, and would benefit the US.
However, this move was not made out of genuine or productive interest, nor is it a show of solidarity or repentance over the coercive measures imposed on Venezuela, as Chevron officials have clarified: “any new authorization will depend on whether Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro takes further political steps, two sources said, such as releasing more jailed Americans and setting a firm date for resuming negotiations with the Venezuelan opposition.”
Irrefutable realities
After the meeting with Biden’s envoys at Miraflores Palace, the president of the Venezuelan Oil Chamber (CPV), Reinaldo Quintero, explained that: “Venezuela is important for stable transnational operators like Chevron, since it can contribute at least 400,000 barrels a day to the crude oil needs of the the Gulf of Mexico refineries; this includes the CITGO refineries which are an asset of PDVSA and which depended on Venezuelan crude.”
Quintero added that “we are talking about 740,000 barrels per day, or more, that Venezuela exports and that could be very important for the North American market, which is more stable, closer to home and highly competitive.”
Neither the Oil Minister and Economy Sectorial Vice President Tareck El Aissami, nor state-owned PDVSA have issued any responses to this possible expansion by Chevron in Venezuela.
Featured image: The Chevron Corporation logo at the company offices in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo
(RedRadioVE) by Victoria Torres
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/KW/EF
