U.S. renews Chevron's Venezuela license through Nov under same restrictions

The license also authorizes oilfield service companies Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International to maintain assets in Venezuela. Last week, Chevron received a separate authorization from the Treasury to engage in talks with Maduro's officials and PDVSA through November, a move seen by analysts and sources as a preliminary step to a possible broader license later this year.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday renewed a license to oil producer Chevron Corp to operate in U.S.-sanctioned Venezuela through the end of November under the same restricted terms granted to the company since 2020. Chevron has since March doubled down on efforts to negotiate expanded privileges in its license, mainly to receive billions of dollars of pending debt by trading cargoes of Venezuelan oil. It also has sought unsuccessfully to gain some control of its joint ventures with Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA.

The possibility of Venezuelan crude oil returning to the United States, once its largest single market, also had been discussed by U.S. officials at a high-level meeting in Caracas in March. However, obstacles to resuming political talks between Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized by Washington as Venezuela's rightful leader, ultimately limited expectations over the Chevron license reach this time.

U.S. officials want to see progress in negotiations between Maduro and the opposition before deciding on any expansion to the terms of Chevron's license, a person in Washington familiar with the talks said. Chevron did not have an immediate comment.

Friday's license allows Chevron to conduct "transactions and activities necessary for safety or the preservation of assets in Venezuela," including those for securing staff safety, integrity of operations, participation in shareholder and board meetings, payments on third-party invoices, local tax payments, purchases of utility services and salary payments. The license also authorizes oilfield service companies Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International to maintain assets in Venezuela.

Last week, Chevron received a separate authorization from the Treasury to engage in talks with Maduro's officials and PDVSA through November, a move seen by analysts and sources as a preliminary step to a possible broader license later this year.

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