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Chevron ends operations in Venezuela after Trump revoked license, maintains few personnel and assets in the country

The original license was revoked in March, and the company was given two months to wind down its activities. That period ended this week.

A Chevron gas station

A Chevron gas stationPatrick T. Fallon / AFP

Virginia Martínez
Published by
Virginia Martínez

U.S. oil company Chevron terminated its production, services, and procurement contracts in Venezuela. Following the expiration of a key license to operate in the country, it ceded control of its joint ventures to state-owned PDVSA. Despite the formal closure of its operations, the company will continue in Venezuelan territory with its own personnel and will retain its assets, covered by a limited authorization granted by the Trump administration.

The original license was revoked in March, and Chevron was given two months to wind down its activities. That period ended this week, marking the end of its authorized production operations. However, the new guideline allows the company to preserve its infrastructure without generating revenue for Nicolas Maduro's regime.

Presence without financing to the regime

The authorization does not allow Chevron to operate oil fields, export crude oil or expand its activities. Its only function will be to safeguard assets and maintain the minimum operations necessary to maintain its installed capacity, without generating income for the government of Nicolás Maduro. Until April, the company had been exporting up to 290,000 barrels per day.

Key meetings

In recent days, Chevron executives met with contractors and senior officials of the Venezuelan dictatorship, including Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez, to communicate next steps. PDVSA, as the majority shareholder in the joint ventures, will now assume full management of the personnel and marketing of the extracted crude.

Chevron, sanctions and the political landscape

Chevron assured that it would continue to comply with all laws and regulations in force, including the U.S. sanctions regime. For its part, PDVSA minimized the decision of its foreign partner, stating that production remains stable and that its growth does not depend on international licenses.

Donald Trump justified the revocation of the license given the lack of progress by the Maduro regime on issues such as the repatriation of migrants and democratic reforms. Maduro, on the other hand, described the sanctions as a form of "economic warfare."

Meanwhile, opposition leader María Corina Machado considered the measure "perfectly welcome and safe." In an interview with journalist Andrés Oppenheimer, she stated that it is vital to maintain a minimum presence that does not benefit the regime, but allows companies such as Chevron to be ready to invest heavily "when the time comes."

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