Outline:
Following the U.S. attack on Venezuelaand the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an overnight operation on Saturday, all attention could be focused on theHouston-based energy giantChevron in the weeks ahead.
Chevronis the sole major U.S. energy company operating in Venezuela. The rest either exited the country, were forced out, or had their oil assets seized and controlled by the Venezuelan government. Chevron stated that for the time being, its focus is on its employees and ongoing operations.
“Chevron continues to prioritize the safety and health of its employees, along with the protection of its facilities. We maintain full adherence to all applicable laws and regulations,” said a Chevron representative.on Saturday in a pre-written statement.
Trump looks toward Venezuelan oil during Saturday’s press conference
Trump stated on Saturday that the U.S. intends torun the South American nationand would sell “significant quantities” of Venezuela’s oil reserves to other nations. Venezuela possesses the largest confirmed crude oil reserves globally.
U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Saturday that the United States plans to restore Venezuela’s infrastructure and seek compensation for the expenses incurred.
“Our nation’s major U.S. oil corporations, which are the largest in the world, will enter the scene, invest billions of dollars, repair the severely damaged oil infrastructure, and begin generating revenue for the country,” Trump stated.
Why Chevron is the sole U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela
Chevron says it has projects spanning 74,000 oil and gas acresIt initially began its investigations in Venezuela in 1923, identified the Boscan field in 1946, and has been active there for over a hundred years.
Other petroleum companies, such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, previously had operations in Venezuela. However, beginning in 2006, then-President Hugo Chávez required all oil companies to collaborate with the state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA and transfer ownership of at least 60 percent of their projects to PDVSA. Exxon and ConocoPhillips declined and exited Venezuela. Chevron, on the other hand, complied with the requirements and remained.
Although U.S. sanctions against Venezuela have increased, Chevron has kept running operations in the country under a specific permit from the U.S. Treasury. This permit enables Chevron to extract and export oil from Venezuela, provided that Chevron only manages current projects and its earnings do not directly support PDVSA or the Venezuelan government.
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