Chevron in talks with U.S. to expand Venezuela production and exports - Reuters

U.S. oil giant Chevron is in talks with the U.S. government to expand its license to produce and export oil from Venezuela after the overthrow of its leader Nicolas Maduro, sources told Reuters and a Bloomberg interviewer confirmed .

Chevron is the only major U.S. oil company that operates in Venezuela. It produces and exports crude under a special license that exempts it from U.S. sanctions. In July, the Trump administration imposed additional restrictions on Chevron, reducing the volume of supplies from about 250,000 barrels per day to 100,000. The talks, which Reuters has learned about, are about increasing crude oil exports, not only to Chevron's own refineries, but also for sale to its partners, the agency writes. They could send cargoes outside the US, as has been done in the past.

The Trump administration is also seeking the participation of other U.S. companies in Venezuela's oil exports, including refiner Valero Energy, which was a client of local PDVSA before sanctions were imposed, as well as major players Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, whose assets in Venezuela were expropriated two decades ago, Reuters interlocutors said. The possible involvement of some of these companies has caused tensions in talks between Caracas and Washington, they said.

Chevron, Valero, Exxon, Conoco and the U.S. Treasury Department could not immediately respond to the agency's request for comment.

Shares of Chevron rose in extended trading after the publication of Reuters by 0.6%. The main session they ended in the minus by 0.9%. Quotes of Valero, Exxon and Conoco also rose in the postmarket.

The day before, Trump announced that Venezuela would transfer up to 50 million barrels of "high-quality" oil to the United States, which would then be sold at market price, and he would use the proceeds to benefit the peoples of the two countries. Bloomberg estimated the value of such a volume of crude at about $2.8 billion at current prices.

Later, Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified that the administration plans to take control of future sales of Venezuelan oil and place the proceeds in accounts in the U.S. In the first stage, it will be about oil that is already in storage in Venezuela, but could not be exported because of the blockade, Wright explained. At the same time, he put it this way: "We will be engaged in the marketing of oil from Venezuela: first this stuck in storage, and then - indefinitely - all the raw materials that will come from Venezuela".

Proceeds from the sale in the first phase will not be used to compensate Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and other U.S. companies whose assets have been nationalized by Venezuelan authorities, Wright said.

President Donald Trump wrote on social media site Truth Social on Wednesday evening that Venezuela would "buy EXCLUSIVELY American-made products" with the funds from the deal and "commit to doing business with the U.S. as its primary partner."

The oil embargo on the country remains in place, Washington says. On Wednesday, the U.S. military seized two tankers linked to Venezuela in the Atlantic Ocean. One of them was traveling under the Russian flag.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor