The authorization, privately issued to the American oil producer, opens a new window for their oil business in Venezuela
Chevron has been awarded a restricted American license to operate in Venezuela, three sources close to the decision said on Wednesday, adding that no money from oil profits can be transferred in any way to the administration of Nicolás Maduro.
Last week, Reuters reported that the United States was preparing to grant new authorizations to key partners of the Venezuelan state PDVSA, starting with Chevron, to allow them to operate with limitations in the OPEC nation and exchange oil.
The authorization, privately issued to the American oil producer, opens a new window for their oil business in Venezuela only two months after a deadline previously established by Washington so that the joint companies of the state company PDVSA liquidate transactions, including oil exports.
Chevron and a handful of European oil companies, including the Spanish Repsol and the French Maurel & Prom had received authorizations from the administration of former president Joe Biden, which allowed them to expand operations in Venezuela and export oil to the United States and Europe.
*Also read: Maduro confirms that Chevron received a license to re -operate in Venezuela
Amid criticism about migration and democracy in Venezuela, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, said in February that licenses would be revoked and gave companies until the end of May to complete the transactions.
Consequently, Chevron reduced its operations in Venezuela and ordered a fleet of Petroleros Zarpar, delegating operations to PDVSA. Washington allowed Chevron to preserve its assets in the OPEC member country, including its participation in joint companies.
The new license would now allow the American company to make decisions in its joint companies and contribute to the acquisitions and payments of contracts, two of the sources said.
However, given that payments cannot be made to Venezuela, including royalties and mandatory taxes, it was not clear immediately if PDVSA would assign Chevron to some crude oil cargo for the United States. Nor was it clear if any other PDVSA partner has received a similar authorization.
Chevron declined to comment on the license and said that it operates worldwide in compliance with laws and regulations, as well as the framework of US sanctions. The US and PDVSA Treasury Department did not immediately respond to comments requests.
In April, when the previous licenses were still in force, PDVSA canceled the cargoes assigned to Chevron due to problems to receive mandatory payments. Chevron has not exported Venezuelan oil since then.
*Journalism in Venezuela is exercised in a hostile environment for the press with dozens of legal instruments arranged for the punishment of the word, especially the laws “against hatred”, “against fascism” and “against blockade.” This content was written taking into consideration the threats and limits that, consequently, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
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