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LatAmOil                                      COMMENTARY                                            LatAmOil











































                                                                               Chevron is pursuing four JVs with PdVSA (Image: Chevron)

       What’s next for





       Chevron in Venezuela?







       The US major is expected to send a cargo of Merey crude to the US Gulf Coast market by

       the end of the year but faces constraints in its ability to invest in upstream production



                         IN late November, the US Treasury Depart-  for Chevron to resume shipments of Venezuelan
                         ment’s Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC)   crude to the US in the near future. Argus Media
       WHAT:             issued a document known as General Licence   reported on December 9, citing a company
       Following limited sanc-  (GL) 41 that allows California-based Chevron   source, that the US major was expected to load
       tions relief, Chevron’s   to work in Venezuela without any penalty under   a tanker with Merey, a heavy crude blend with
       first priority in Venezuela   the existing sanctions regime.  a specific gravity of 16 degrees API, for deliv-
       is likely to be oil exports
       rather than production.  There are some limits to GL 41, in that it only   ery to a US Gulf Coast refiner before the end of
                         permits Chevron to resume operations related   the year. This will be the first Venezuelan crude
       WHY:              to existing joint ventures with Venezuela’s   cargo sent to the US market since 2018, it noted.
       GL 41 limits capital ex-  national oil company (NOC) PdVSA and does   Despite these developments, the shift in
       penditures in Venezuela.  not allow the launch of any new projects. How-  Chevron’s Venezuelan posture will not be imme-
                         ever, the issuance of the licence is a significant   diate and complete. That is, the US firm will not
       WHAT NEXT:        shift. In general terms, it marks the US major’s   be moving back into the business of extracting
       The company is laying   return to playing an active role in Venezuela’s oil   Venezuelan oil right away. Instead, its initial
       the groundwork for future   and gas sector after nearly four years of forced   actions will focus on handling crude that has
       upstream development.  idleness.                       already been taken out of the ground and put
                           And in more specific terms, it clears the way   into storage.



       P4                                       www. NEWSBASE .com                      Week 50   14•December•2022
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