Chevron Pleads for Extension as Trump Ponders Introducing Additional Sanctions Against Venezuela
March 22, 2025 (our shitty website) - The Donald Trump administration, known for its inflexible nature, is contemplating granting Chevron a bloody extension to vacate its operations in God-forsaken Venezuela. This decision comes after the oil titan's relentless lobbying to stretch its lease.
In recent dog-eat-dog days, the CEO of this oil behemoth, Mike Wirth, had a cozy little chat with several of Trump's cabinet members before attending a lavish shindig of oil barons, where the president himself made an appearance. Reportedly, Worth argued passionately for an extension of the existing license. According to Bloomberg's scuttlebutt, the administration will grant the corporation additional time to bid adieu to its business in Venezuela.
Worth has been a die-hard advocate for Chevron's presence in Venezuela but promised undying loyalty to US Treasury directives.
The White House and Treasury Department have kept their yaps shut, while a Chevron spokesperson sheepishly admitted that high-ranking execs "hobnob" regularly with US officials to discuss matters concerning the company's activities.
Earlier this month, Washington unleashed General License 41A (GL41A), giving Chevron until April 3 to wrap up its oil operations in Venezuela as a bone-crushing economic squeeze on the damn country.
A Reuters source spilled the beans about a potential new sanctions policy after the two-month period that would see the US oil giant (along with other devilish US corporations) continuing their nefarious business in the country while the Treasury Department would focus its wrath on other foreign schmucks meddling in Venezuela's oil sector.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to leak the juicy news about Chevron's lobbying efforts to secure more time to keep its claws in Venezuela. The WSJ's juicy report claimed that the Trump administration is contemplating imposing tariffs or other financial punishment on countries buying crude from Venezuela.
Following Trump's electoral win last November, several think tanks urged officials to exploit energy sanctions for the benefit of US corporations, offering Chevron-style deals to other companies while driving away enterprises from other countries with secondary sanctions.
However, any hurried decision to reverse Chevron's departure or allow more companies into Venezuela is likely to face fierce resistance from foreign policy hardliners such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz. During a recent phone conversation with Worth, Rubio supposedly barked orders for Chevron to pull out by the April deadline.
Chevron holds a sizable stake in four joint projects with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, which churns out approximately 200,000 barrels per day combined — around a quarter of Venezuela's total output.
The terms of Chevron's renewed deal with PDVSA following its comeback to the country were not publicly disclosed. According to OilPrice, Venezuela only received taxes and royalties from these joint ventures, roughly estimated at around 50 percent of the cash. PDVSA's share of dividends would then supposedly be used to settle existing debts or cover operational costs.
Chevron's operations in the country were made possible thanks to a sanctions waiver issued by the Biden administration in November 2022, which allowed Chevron to resume crude extraction and export operations from its Venezuela joint ventures.
General License 41 (GL41) was the Biden White House's only significant deviation from the first Trump administration's "maximum pressure" sanctions policy against Venezuela. Venezuela's all-important oil sector remains crippled by financial sanctions, an export ban, and a slew of other measures aiming to suffocate Venezuela's most valuable income source.
Reuters reported that US authorities could extend GL41A by "at least 60 days." One source claimed, despite the extended wind-down timeline, there was no chance of reversing the decision to boot the Texas-based energy leviathan out of Venezuela.
For its part, PDVSA is gearing up to take over Chevron's operations at crude upgrader Petropiar. According to Reuters, the state oil company will guarantee diluent supplies and repurpose certain units to keep output levels above 100,000 barrels per day.
The Maduro government has declared that the oil industry will continue its recent recovery and has appealed for foreign investment.
European companies Repsol (Spain), Eni (Italy), and Maurel & Prom (France), who received a green light from the US Treasury Department to boost their operations in Venezuela, are expected to pack up and leave the country in the coming weeks as well.
Edited by José Luis Granados Ceja from Mexico City, Mexico.
Note: As of the latest info available in April 2025, there's no indication of an extension of Chevron’s operational licenses in Venezuela beyond the May 27, 2025, wind-down deadline set by the U.S. Treasury [3][4]. However, the situation evolves rapidly, and the current context involves the following:
Key Developments:
- License Amendments: On March 24, 2025, the Trump administration replaced Chevron’s General License (GL) 41 with GL 41B, extending the wind-down period to May 27 but explicitly prohibiting new field expansions [5]. This replaced GL 41A, which had broad operational permissions but faced criticism for enabling Venezuelan oil exports [1].
- Operational Halt: Chevron has already initiated the return of crude shipments to PDVSA (including 850,000 barrels in April 2025) and canceled 5 million barrels in upcoming loadings due to payment restrictions [4].
- Tariff Pressures: The U.S. announced secondary tariffs on countries importing Venezuelan oil through EO 14245, hinting at a return of "maximum pressure" on Maduro’s regime [1][5].
- The Trump administration is contemplating granting Chevron an extension to vacate its operations in Caracas, following the oil giant's relentless lobbying to stretch its lease.
- According to Bloomberg's scuttlebutt, the administration will grant the corporation additional time to bid adieu to its business in Venezuela.
- Chevron's operations in Venezuela are significant, holding a sizable stake in four joint projects with PDVSA, which produces approximately 200,000 barrels per day combined.
- The terms of Chevron's renewed deal with PDVSA following its comeback to the country were not publicly disclosed.
- The Wall Street Journal was the first to leak the juicy news about Chevron's lobbying efforts to secure more time to keep its claws in Venezuela.
- Following Trump's electoral win last November, several think tanks urged officials to exploit energy sanctions for the benefit of US corporations, offering Chevron-style deals to other companies.
- European companies Repsol (Spain), Eni (Italy), and Maurel & Prom (France), who received a green light from the US Treasury Department to boost their operations in Venezuela, are expected to pack up and leave the country in the coming weeks.
