Page 8 - LatAmOil Week 22 2022

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US extends Chevron’s Venezuela waiver

THE US Treasury Department announced last that country’s incumbent president, strikes a
week that it had extended the sanctions waiver deal with the coalition of opposition parties led
previously awarded to Chevron so that the com- by Juan Guaido to hold a new round of parlia-
pany could maintain its presence in Venezuela, mentary and presidential elections.
though without any ability to pursue normal The US government began restricting Chev-
commercial operations. The extension will also ron’s activities in Venezuela in 2020, when it
apply to the US-based oilfield service provid- barred the California-based company from sell-
ers (OSPs) that hold similar waivers – namely, ing oil via its joint ventures with PdVSA, Petro-
Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Schlumberger and Piar and PetroBoscan, and forced it to halt its
Weatherford International. diesel imports into the South American nation.
Effective until December 1, 2022, the waiver Both PetroPiar and PetroBoscan are targeting
sets strict conditions for these companies’ con- heavy crude fields in western Venezuela.
tinued presence in Venezuela. Specifically, they US sanctions have had a significant impact
stipulate that Chevron must minimise activi- on Venezuela’s oil industry, not just by restrict-
ties such as the drilling, lifting, purchasing and ing trade in the country’s crude but also by cut-
processing of Venezuelan-origin crude oil or ting off its access to the parts, equipment and
petroleum products by the San Ramon, Califor- raw materials needed to maintain and repair
nia-based energy giant. Likewise, the OSPs must its production complexes, refineries and pipe-
minimise support for such activities. lines. As a result, Venezuela has turned to Iran,
In effect, then, the sanctions regime remains another country facing US sanctions, for help.
in place. Nevertheless, the administration of Last year, Caracas and Tehran concluded a swap
US President Joe Biden is reportedly consider- deal that gave PdVSA access to Iranian gas con-
ing the possibility of loosening restrictions on densate that it could use as blendstock to mix its
investment in Venezuela’s oil sector. Officials own extra-heavy crude into an exportable grade.
in Washington have hinted that Chevron may According to the latest OPEC report, Ven-
soon be permitted to engage in talks with Vene- ezuela’s domestic oil production amounted to
zuela’s national oil company (NOC) PdVSA on 707,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April. ™
the reactivation of its joint venture projects in
the South American state.
These hints would not represent a total
abandonment of the sanctions regime, which
addresses many more aspects of trade relations.
Even so, suggestions that oil relations might be
revived have drawn significant pushback from
US legislators, with representatives of both the
Republican and Democratic parties voicing
their objections.
The official position of the Biden adminis-
tration is that the US will consider granting full
sanctions relief to Venezuela if Nicolas Maduro, PetroPiar is one of two PdVSA-Chevron joint ventures (Photo: PdVSA)

GUYANA
ExxonMobil contracts Acorn International

for environmental study of Uaru project

ACORN International, a Houston-based risk during a meeting last week.
management consultancy, has been contracted Jackson was speaking during a public
to carry out an environmental study for Uaru, scoping meeting convened in Georgetown
the fifth development project at the Stabroek by Esso Exploration & Production Guyana
block offshore Guyana, ExxonMobil’s in-coun- Ltd (EEPGL), a local affiliate of the US-based
try projects manager Anthony Jackson revealed super-major.

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