Despite some easing, the United States has clarified that it does not plan a systematic easing of sanctions against Venezuela

US does not plan systematic easing of sanctions against Venezuelawhich since 2019 have reduced oil production and exports, even after granting specific licenses to PDVSA partners to collect outstanding debt, a State Department official said.

The Joe Biden administration issued Chevron a six-month license in November allowing it to expand operations and export Venezuelan oil to the United States, followed by authorization for Trinidad and Tobago to jointly develop an offshore natural gas field with Venezuela. .

european oil companies Eni there Repsol are also authorized since last year by Washington to import venezuelan crudea turn from the more restrictive approach of Donald Trump, who imposed a policy of “maximum pressure” in an effort to oust dictator Nicolás Maduro from power.

The State Department does not view the recent licenses as a general shift in its policy toward Venezuela, he told the news agency. Reuters Undersecretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment José Fernández on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston this week.

“There has been a change in the specific penalties for Chevron and (the license) It’s limited, at any time you can go backFernandez said.

“I can say categorically that we have not no further liberalization plans with Venezuela (…) At present, there are no plans to further ease the sanctions,” he said.

Chevron received and shipped around 86,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Venezuelan crude in February after exports to the United States resumed in early 2023 after a four-year hiatus.

However, cargoes from Chevron and others earmarked for Eni and Repsol since last year have not represented an increase in total exports from Venezuela amid a massive need for investment after years of dispute with the companies. international oil companies, an exodus of qualified personnel and sanctions.

Venezuela told OPEC oil production of 716,000 bpd in 2022, a slight increase from the previous year, but still a fraction of the 2.8 million bpd produced by the country a decade ago. .

Oil analysts and executives present at CERAWeek don’t expect a quick recovery in Venezuela’s oil exports which could help stabilize the market in the context of a reorganization of flows after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Es esencial que los gobiernos entiendan que estamos invirtiendo en un horizonte de 20 à 30 años, por lo que necesitamos estabilidad y regulaciones que respalden”, dijo Alistair Routledge, country manager for Guyana of Exxon Mobil, refiriéndose a los challenges de operar en Latin America.

(With information from Reuters)

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