U.S. orders Chevron to wind down Venezuela operations by Dec. 1

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday gave Chevron Corp, the last major U.S. oil company still operating in Venezuela, until Dec. 1 to "wind down" its business in the OPEC member-nation and allowed it to conduct only limited operations there until then. In a move to ratchet up pressure on Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro, the Trump administration imposed new restrictions on Chevron's joint ventures with Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA paving the way for the California-based company's departure.

Chevron has had a special license exempting it from sanctions since last January but the latest three-month waiver expires on Wednesday. The U.S. action targets what some Trump administration officials say is a key financial lifeline for Maduro as Washington seeks to stifle trade in Venezuelan crude.

Chevron and other U.S. oil companies are being squeezed amid a coronavirus-induced supply glut. The collapse in oil prices has threatened to tilt the once-booming U.S. oil industry into bankruptcy. Chevron's shares have declined sharply since Monday. The decision was made after fierce debate in the administration, with some officials arguing the United States needed to keep a corporate beachhead in the crisis-hit country while more hawkish Trump aides said staying in Venezuela was helping Maduro keep his grip on power, according to people familiar with the matter.

Treasury said Chevron, under a new, more restrictive license, would only be authorized to conduct transactions with PDVSA "necessary for the limited maintenance of essential operations in Venezuela or the wind down of operations" by the beginning of December. The Trump administration has waged a "maximum pressure" campaign of economic sanctions and diplomatic measures in an effort to oust Maduro, whose 2018 re-election was considered a sham by most Western countries.

Venezuela's oil exports have dropped by one-third since the United States and dozens of other countries recognized opposition leader Juan Guaido as the country's legitimate interim president in January of last year. But Maduro remains in power, backed by Venezuela's military as well as Russia, China and Cuba. Some U.S. officials have said this has been a growing source of frustration for President Donald Trump.