Julianne Geiger
U.S. oil company Chevron has a tanker on the way to sanctioned Venezuela, where it will pick up a load of crude oil destined for the United States.
The crude cargo will be the first Venezuelan crude oil
shipment to arrive in the United States in almost four years, according to a
Reuters source.
Chevron is also sending another tanker to Venezuela—this
time set for delivery. The container is carrying much-needed diluents that will
be mixed with Venezuela’s heavy crude. It will arrive in Venezuela in early
January, the anonymous sources said.
Chevron holds a six-month license, granted by the U.S.
government in late November, to expand its role in its Venezuelan joint
ventures. This license allows the U.S. oil company to bring some sanctioned
Venezuelan crude oil to the United States for sale to U.S. refiners.
Sanctions against Venezuela were introduced in 2019 by the
Trump Administration, and the Biden Administration’s decision to ease some of
those sanctions came after the resumption of talks earlier this year between
the government of Nicolas Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition. Those talks led
to the signing of a U.S.-brokered accord between the government and the
opposition in order to resolve the country’s political turmoil.
Profits from the sale of Chevron’s Venezuelan-derived crude
oil will go towards paying down the debt to Chevron and will not bolster
state-run PDVSA’s profits.
Chevron is the lone U.S. oil company currently operating in
Venezuela.
Chevron’s future in Venezuela and possible license
expansions or extensions will depend heavily on the United States’ attitude to
the Nicolas Maduro regime and the latter’s fulfillment of the promises that he
made last month with the opposition.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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