Maduro: Venezuela welcomes oil and gas investors

Maduro: Venezuela welcomes oil and gas investors

The U.S. administration is considering granting new authorizations to key partners of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, starting with Chevron, allowing them to operate with limitations in the sanctioned OPEC nation and swap oil. This policy shift marks a departure from the previous strategy of pressuring the energy industry to comply with sanctions [1].

Chevron's shares touched $155.93 on Thursday, their highest level since April 3, following the announcement [1]. The authorizations, if granted, would permit the energy companies to pay oilfield contractors and make necessary imports to secure operational continuity. Some imports could be swapped for Venezuelan oil, as authorized in previous licenses, according to three sources close to the matter [1].

The U.S. State Department has stated that they could not speak about any specific licenses to PDVSA's partners but added that the U.S. would not allow President Nicolas Maduro's government to profit from the sale of oil [1]. However, a source in touch with U.S. and Venezuelan officials said it was difficult to understand how Maduro's government would not benefit from cargoes Chevron can sell to the U.S. [1].

The move to ease some restrictions on Venezuela’s oil sector follows a prisoner swap this month in which Maduro released 10 American detainees while accepting the return of more than 200 Venezuelans who had been deported from the U.S. and held in an El Salvador prison [1]. Relations between the two countries have been tense for years, and the Trump administration has publicly supported opposition leaders who say their candidate won last year's election, not Maduro [1].

Trump in February announced the cancellation of a handful of energy licenses in Venezuela, including Chevron's, and gave until late May to wind down all transactions [1]. The U.S. State Department, which in May blocked a move by special presidential envoy Richard Grenell to extend the licenses, is this time imposing conditions on any authorization modifications, so that no cash reaches Maduro's coffers [1].

The authorizations might remain private, one of the sources said [1]. The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment [1].

Following the cancellation of Chevron's license earlier this year, Trump announced the imposition of secondary tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil. But the measure, expected to severely hit Venezuela's main crude buyer China, has not been enforced, allowing the South American country to divert to Asia crude grades that were previously sold to U.S. and European refiners through PDVSA's joint-venture partners [1]. The reshuffle, which has maintained Venezuela's oil output and exports close to the levels they were at before the license cancellations, has been criticized by politicians in Washington and was discussed as part of talks for the new authorizations, the sources said [1].

During former U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, targeted licenses to PDVSA's partners allowed Western refiners to regain access to Venezuelan supplies, but they also granted a stable source of cash to Maduro's administration as the companies were required by Venezuela to pay royalties and taxes [1].

References:
[1] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-mulls-limited-authorizations-oil-171112412.html
[2] https://worldoil.com/news/2025/7/24/chevron-cleared-to-restart-venezuela-oil-production/
[3] https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2713831-venezuela-oil-may-re-enter-us-market-sources
[4] https://finimize.com/content/chevron-returns-to-venezuela-with-us-approval