Chevron Contracted Tankers to Return to Venezuela: Data

Three ships contracted by Chevron to transport Venezuelan crude to the US are reportedly returning to Venezuelan waters to resume oil loading this month, following a new US license. The ships had previously been used to transport crude from Venezuela to the US.

Title: Chevron Resumes Oil Shipments to Venezuela Following US License

Houston, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Chevron Corp (CVX.N) has resumed oil shipments to Venezuela, with at least three vessels navigating toward the South American country's waters, according to shipping data and sources. This development follows a new US license granted to Chevron, allowing it to export oil and swap with state company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) [1].

The US Treasury Department late last month authorized Chevron to operate in the sanctioned OPEC nation again, export its oil, and do swaps with PDVSA through a restricted license banning any payments to Venezuela's government [1]. Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth last week stated that a small volume of exports from the country would resume later in August [2].

Chevron-chartered tankers MediterraneanVoyager and Canopus Voyager were approaching the Caribbean island of Aruba, north of Venezuela's western coast on Thursday, vessel monitoring data by LSEG showed. A third ship, Sea Jaguar, was navigating from Europe with Aruba also its initial destination [1]. Chevron and PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Venezuela's oil exports fell to 727,000 barrels per day last month as PDVSA's joint venture partners, including Chevron and a handful of European companies, awaited U.S. authorizations to resume operations [1]. Chevron's exports of Venezuelan crude remain suspended since April when PDVSA canceled cargoes it had scheduled for its joint-venture partner over payment problems related to U.S. sanctions on the OPEC country [2].

Before the licenses were canceled, Chevron exported some 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan crude in the first quarter, according to data based on vessel movements. That represented 29% of the country's total exports [2]. The new authorization is similar to the Biden-era license but prohibits payments to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's administration in any currency [2].

Since the license was greenlit by Washington, Chevron has been negotiating a new off-taking mechanism with cash-strapped PDVSA. The arrangement is expected to include payments of mandatory royalties and taxes to Venezuela in kind, which could come from a portion of crude jointly produced or through oil swaps with Chevron supplying Venezuela with diluents [2].

The supply deal is key for Chevron's second-largest joint venture in Venezuela, Petroboscan in Venezuela's western region, due to limitations in storing the heavy Boscan crude produced by that project, which have forced output cuts in the past [4]. Chevron and Valero Energy (VLO.N) are working to resume supplies of Venezuelan crude to Valero's U.S. refineries under an agreement that was on pause [4].

The volume represented about 20% of Chevron's total exports of Venezuelan oil in the first quarter, the data showed [4]. The supply deal is crucial for Chevron's second-largest joint venture in Venezuela, Petroboscan, located in the country's western region. The heavy Boscan crude produced by Petroboscan has faced storage limitations, leading to production cuts in the past. Resuming the supply deal would address these challenges [4].

References
[1] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-chartered-tankers-begin-returning-venezuela-after-us-license-shipping-2025-08-07/
[2] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevrons-exports-venezuelan-oil-expected-resume-this-month-ceo-says-2025-08-01/
[3] https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Chevrons-Return-to-Venezuela-Fuels-Controversy-Over-Oil-Payments-to-Maduro.html
[4] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chevron-valero-talks-reactivate-supply-agreement-venezuelan-oil-us-sources-say-2025-08-05/
[5] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chevron-valero-plan-restart-venezuelan-111010704.html