By Marianna Parraga
HOUSTON (Reuters) -Chevron has been granted a restricted U.S. license to operate in sanctioned Venezuela, three sources close to the decision said on Wednesday, adding that no money from oil proceeds can be transferred in any way to the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Last week, Reuters reported that the U.S. was preparing to grant new authorizations to key partners of Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA, starting with Chevron, to allow them to operate with limitations in the OPEC nation and swap oil.
The authorization, issued privately to the U.S. oil producer, opens a new window for its oil business in Venezuela only two months after a deadline previously set by Washington for joint-venture partners of state company PDVSA to wind down transactions, including oil exports.
Chevron and a handful of European oil companies, including Spain’s Repsol and France’s Maurel & Prom, had been granted authorizations by the administration of former President Joe Biden, which allowed them to expand operations in Venezuela and export oil to the U.S. and Europe.
Amid criticism on migration and democracy in Venezuela, U.S. President Donald Trump in February said the licenses would be revoked and gave the companies until late May to complete transactions.
In consequence, Chevron reduced operations in Venezuela and instructed a dedicated fleet of tankers to sail away, delegating operations to PDVSA. Washington allowed Chevron to preserve its assets in the OPEC country, including its joint-venture stakes.
The new license would now allow the U.S. company to make decisions at its joint ventures and contribute to procurement and contract payments, two of the sources said.
However, since no payments can be made to Venezuela, including mandatory royalties and taxes, it was not immediately clear if PDVSA would assign Chevron any crude cargoes bound to the U.S. It was also unclear if any other partner of PDVSA has received a similar authorization.
Chevron declined to comment on the license and said it conducts business globally in compliance with laws and regulations, as well as the U.S. sanctions frameworks. The U.S. Treasury Department and PDVSA did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
In April, when the previous licenses were still current, PDVSA canceled cargoes allocated to Chevron over problems receiving mandatory payments. Chevron has not exported Venezuelan oil since.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga; additional reporting by Sheila DangEditing by Marguerita Choy)
