Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, will continue to produce crude from its joint ventures with Chevron, following the U.S. government’s decision to revoke Chevron’s license to operate in the country. This move follows a February announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump, who ended a sanctions waiver that had allowed Chevron to operate in Venezuela and contribute to its oil production growth.
Trump cited the lack of electoral reform in Venezuela and insufficient action on migration as reasons for the decision. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said, “We are hereby reversing the concessions that Crooked Joe Biden gave to Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela regarding the oil transaction agreement dated November 26, 2022, and the electoral conditions within Venezuela, which have not been met by the Maduro regime.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Treasury gave Chevron a 30-day period to wind down operations and exports from Venezuela by April 3.
Chevron had been exporting around 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of heavy crude from Venezuela to the U.S. under the sanctions waiver since 2022. With the waiver now removed, Chevron is out of Venezuela, and PDVSA is preparing to manage operations without the U.S. supermajor.
PDVSA has outlined three potential scenarios for after April 3, which include maintaining production of between 105,000 and 138,000 bpd of Hamaca heavy crude at the Petropiar site in the Orinoco Belt. This output level is consistent with recent production figures, according to a PDVSA document reviewed by Reuters.
Some of the Hamaca crude will be used for domestic refining, while the rest will be exported to markets outside the U.S. Additionally, PDVSA plans to increase the supply of diluents to help upgrade the heavy crude for pipeline transport.
The main goal for PDVSA is to maintain production at Petropiar and avoid having to shut down the heavy crude upgrader or any oilfields, a source familiar with the company’s plans told Reuters.
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