Caracas, August 4, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – US oil company Chevron is set to restart crude shipments from its joint ventures in Venezuela under a renewed US Treasury sanctions waiver, CEO Mike Wirth confirmed Friday.
Wirth stated that a limited amount of oil would be flowing to US refineries once more in August. This month, it looks like there will be a limited amount of oil that will begin flowing to the USA from the Venezuela operations that we have an interest in.
The oil executive added that the restart of oil drilling and export operations in Venezuela would have a limited short-term impact on Chevron’s profits but would help the firm begin recouping debts.
Wirth, who had extensively lobbied the Donald Trump administration to continue its activities in Venezuela, reiterated the corporation’s commitment to comply with US sanctions, Wirth told analysts during a presentation of the firm’s second-quarter results.
Anonymous sources recently confirmed to Reuters that the specific license had been issued following earlier reports. Unlike general licenses, specific ones are handed directly to companies and not published by the US Treasury Department.
The move followed a high-profile negotiation with Washington that saw Caracas secure the return of 252 migrants deported by US authorities to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador.
The Trump White House reversed its course concerning Chevron’s presence in Venezuela just months after tightening coercive measures and canceling General License 41 (GL41), issued by the Biden administration in November 2022.
The oil giant had been restricted to basic maintenance operations since late May after a wind-down period.
Chevron is a minority partner in four joint ventures with Venezuelan state oil company PdVSA, which are currently responsible for roughly a quarter of the country’s crude output.
Despite predictions of an immediate setback, Venezuela’s oil industry managed to maintain output and export levels in recent months. In June, 90 percent of PDVSA’s cargoes were destined for customers in China.
Several Trump allies have raised fears of growing Chinese influence, urging the administration to leverage sanctions to the benefit of US corporations such as Chevron.
The recently issued license marks a loosening of Washington’s maximum pressure campaign against the Caribbean nation’s oil sector.
Which since 2017 has been targeted by financial sanctions, an export embargo, secondary sanctions and a bevy of other measures aiming to strangle Venezuela’s revenues from oil.
US officials have told reporters that Chevron’s return will not mean any income for the Venezuelan state in the form of taxes and royalties.
Nevertheless, such payments are the responsibility of the joint venture itself, not the individual shareholders who receive dividends after taxes and royalties.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello dismissed the notion that Chevron would extract and commercialize crude from Venezuela without paying, but added that the agreement was confidential.
Several other energy corporations, including Spain’s Repsol and Italy’s Eni are reportedly seeking similar approval from Washington to resume energy activities in the country after also being forced to exit Venezuela due to US sanctions earlier this year.
It is expected that the Texas-based corporation will retain control over oilfield operations and that respective crude shares will be sold separately by Chevron and PdVSA.
Analysts claimed that the Nicolás Maduro government requested this change from the prior scheme that saw Chevron sell all the oil before delivering proceeds to its Venezuelan partner.
The new reported arrangement might not bring relief to the South American country’s foreign exchange market.
The deal with PdVSA under GL41 was not publicly disclosed, but Chevron was reportedly a significant supplier of foreign currency to exchange tables run by Venezuelan banks, leading to speculation that it was a mechanism to deliver owed taxes and royalties.
Venezuela’s bolívar (BsD) has significantly devalued in recent months, with the USD-BsD exchange rate growing by 244% in the last 12 months.
Economists have argued that currency devaluation, which is strongly correlated with inflation, is driven by speculative activities. The Venezuelan Central Bank has not published inflation figures since October 2024.
Venezuela Analysis / ABC Flash Point News 2025.