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Move follows Maduro arrest as Chevron seeks operational continuity under US sanctions
Chevron has begun calling employees back to Venezuela as crude oil exports to the United States resume, signaling an effort by the U.S. oil major to stabilize operations amid a rapidly shifting political and security landscape in the country.
According to Reuters, Chevron requested that around 20 employees from its Venezuela division who had been abroad during the holiday period return to their posts after international flights resumed. Transportation into Venezuela had been severely disrupted in recent weeks due to a buildup of U.S. military activity in the region, which culminated in the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife by U.S. authorities on Saturday, January 3.
Shipping data cited by the news agency showed that a Chevron-chartered tanker carrying roughly 300,000 barrels of Venezuelan heavy crude departed Venezuelan waters on Monday, bound for the U.S. Gulf Coast. The cargo marked the company’s first crude export from Venezuela since January 1, following a brief halt in shipments.
Chevron, which is headquartered in Houston, is currently the only U.S. oil major operating in Venezuela under a special U.S. authorization that allows limited activity and exports despite longstanding sanctions. The company said over the weekend that it remained focused on employee safety and asset integrity and continued to operate in compliance with U.S. laws and regulations, Reuters reported.
Chevron operations stand out amid PDVSA strain
The return of Chevron personnel and the resumption of exports come as Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA struggles with mounting inventories, constrained storage, and sharply reduced export capacity. Reuters reported that PDVSA has increased pressure on joint-venture partners, including Chevron, to curb output as onshore and floating storage filled up during an export slowdown that began in mid-December.
However, storage at Chevron’s two largest Venezuelan projects, Petropiar and Petroboscan, had not yet reached capacity, allowing the company to avoid immediate production cuts. Output from those joint ventures has been running near 240,000 barrels per day this month, close to maximum capacity, according to a source cited by Reuters.
Chevron’s ability to maintain relatively fluid operations contrasts with the broader deterioration of Venezuela’s oil sector. PDVSA has faced forced price discounts, infrastructure decay, and declining exports, although shipping data showed that a limited number of sanctioned tankers carrying Venezuelan crude and fuel were able to depart for Asia earlier this month.
Venezuela’s oil industry: vast reserves, deep challenges
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, about 303 billion barrels, according to data referenced by CNBC, yet production has collapsed from a peak of roughly 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1990s to around 1 million bpd or less today.
Years of underinvestment, corruption, operational failures, and U.S. sanctions have left much of the country’s oil infrastructure in poor condition. CNBC cited estimates from Rystad Energy showing that maintaining current production levels alone would require more than $50 billion in investment over the next 15 years, while restoring output to around 3 million bpd by 2040 could require more than $180 billion.
Analysts told CNBC that major oil companies would require long-term political stability and a durable legal and fiscal framework before committing large-scale capital. Energy investments typically span decades, making policy certainty critical.
Markets react as Trump vows oil sector revival
Oil stocks rallied Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump pledged to revive Venezuela’s energy sector following Maduro’s arrest, according to Bloomberg News. Chevron shares rose more than 6% intraday, while other oil majors and oilfield service companies also posted strong gains.
Bloomberg reported that Chevron produces roughly 20% of Venezuela’s oil under a sanctions waiver and ships most of that crude to U.S. refineries that are configured to process heavy oil from the Orinoco Belt. Despite the political upheaval and U.S. military action over the weekend, key oil infrastructure, including the Jose export terminal and major refineries, was not damaged, according to people familiar with the situation cited by Bloomberg.
Still, analysts cautioned that rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry would likely take many years and require investments well above $100 billion. With the country currently contributing less than 1% of global oil supply despite its massive reserves, Chevron’s cautious move to bring staff back highlights both the near-term opportunity and the long-term uncertainty facing Venezuela’s oil sector.
- Written by João Fernando
