Photo composition displaying a Chevron gas station next to a PDVSA gas station. Photo: File photo.
According to Energy Intelligence, the US oil company Chevron has spent millions of dollars in lobbying for the lifting of sanctions against Venezuela, based on information provided by Open Secrets. It is also key to remember that a license by the US Treasury Department is required to have US joint ventures with PDVSA or to import oil from the sanctioned country, which Chevron seeks for profit.
This information was released in a report this Monday, September 4, as part of the effort to pressure Brussels and Washington to “shape new legislative packages that will shake up the energy landscapes of Europe and the United States.”
In November last year, the US government granted a license for Chevron and PDVSA to pursue joint ventures to restart production. “Permission” was granted after talks between the government of President Nicolás Maduro and the opposition resumed. Last year, the Spanish oil company Repsol and the Italian energy conglomerate Eni were also authorized to resume shipments of Venezuelan crude oil to Europe.
The Chevron-PDVSA joint ventures are Petroboscán and Petroindependiente, based in the state of Zulia, and Petropiar and Petroindependencia, based in the Orinoco Oil Belt.
The blockade against the Venezuelan oil industry intensified in 2019 during Donald Trump’s mandate. Since then, any commercialization attempt from outside Venezuela is required to go through the unilateral sanctions imposed by the White House, which remain in place to this day.
It is estimated that the timid US easing of sanctions has only resulted in an increase of 14% in Venezuela’s oil production, equivalent to 100,000 barrels per day. It is also worth noting Chevron’s history of abuses of the rights of workers, the environment, and indigenous populations in numerous Latin American states, as analysts note the company’s potential as a regime change mechanism in the hands of the White House.
(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/AU
