Page 13 - NorthAmOil Week 05 2021

NorthAmOil POLICY NorthAmOil

Chevron, RIL reportedly seeking partial

roll-back of US sanctions on Venezuela

US-VENEZUELA US-BASED Chevron and India’s Reliance Indus- entities involved in the oil sector it received a
tries Ltd (RIL) have reportedly asked the US gov- number of waivers that allowed it to continue
ernment to lift some of the existing restrictions doing business in that country.
on trade with Venezuela. Last year, though, the Trump administration
Sources with knowledge of the matter told instructed the company to ramp down its Vene-
Bloomberg last week that representatives of zuelan operations and ordered several US-based
both companies were already in negotiations oilfield services providers – Baker Hughes, Hal-
with the US Department of State (DoS) on a liburton, Schlumberger and Weatherford Inter-
possible roll-back of sanctions imposed by for- national – to do the same. Those instructions
mer President Donald Trump in early 2019. The have not been rescinded by the Biden adminis-
two sides are conducting virtual meetings to dis- tration, so all five companies are still obligated
cuss the requests for relief, they said, speaking to roll up their Venezuelan business by June of
on condition of anonymity since the talks were this year.
not public knowledge. Meanwhile, the DoS is not yet in a position to
One of the sources reported that Chevron’s deliver an official response to the requests from
goal was to generate support in Washington Chevron and RIL. It will not be able to do so The DoS is not yet
while reminding the new administration of until the US Senate confirms new appointees to
US President Joe Biden of its commitment to the positions within the department that wield in a position to
maintaining a presence in the South American the relevant decision-making powers, Bloomb-
country. He also stated that Reliance had asked erg noted. Some of the appointees in question deliver an official
Washington for permission to resume swap will be assistant secretaries to Anthony Blinken,
deals, which would allow it to take delivery of the new US Secretary of State, it explained. response to the
crude from Venezuela in exchange for supplying For his part, Blinken has not indicated requests from
diesel to that country. (The Trump administra- whether he favours keeping the sanctions in
tion put a stop to the swaps last October, another place in their current form. Earlier this week, Chevron and RIL.
source noted.) the Biden administration signalled that it would
As of press time, neither RIL nor the DoS had continue its predecessor’s policy of recognising
confirmed Bloomberg’s report. When contacted opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s
by the news agency, Chevron spokesman Ray legitimate president.
Fohr said only that his company held regular Trump imposed sanctions shortly after
discussions with US government agencies in Guaido claimed the post of interim president on
order to make certain that it understood the rel- the grounds that President Nicolas Maduro had
evant laws and remained in compliance. used fraudulent means to secure re-election in
December 2018. (He also stated repeatedly that
US sanctions policy his goal was to drive Maduro and his socialist
Chevron has been active in Venezuela for dec- regime out of power by depriving it of oil rev-
ades, and after the imposition of sanctions on the enues; Biden, by contrast, has not explicitly
national oil company (NOC) PdVSA and other sought Maduro’s removal.)™

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