According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other foreign-policy hawks, Chevron has been providing a financial lifeline for Maduro’s regime to enrich itself and suppress civil rights.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves on Earth, but its energy prowess is as much about quality as quantity. Refineries on the US Gulf Coast process Venezuelan crude by the hundreds of thousands of barrels per day. Volumes hit a six-year high in December, according to Kpler, reaching approximately 300 kbd – a 150 kbd year-on-year increase.
Repsol has secured a licence from the US Treasury Department to continue and expand its oil and gas operations in Venezuela, Reuters reported, citing sources.
Foreign oil companies in Venezuela are concerned they won’t get licenses from the US in time to allow them to operate after May 31.
Polish oil and gas firm Orlen has provisionally chartered a supertanker to load Venezuelan oil for China, according to a shipbroker and tracking data, following a temporary easing of US sanctions on the South American country.
Venezuela is expected to raise its crude oil production by less than 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) until the end of 2024 as years of underinvestment and mismanagement will hamper rapid output growth following the effective lifting of most oil sanctions on Venezuela for six months, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Monday.