Chevron seeking to protect Venezuelan business from White House
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Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told Financial Times the company was only interested in running its business with no interest in foreign policy.
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A Chevron sign is displayed outside one of the company's gas stations in Bradenton, Florida on February 22, 2022 (AP)
Chevron is fighting to keep a special US license that allows it to operate in Venezuela, claiming that if it is pulled out by Donald Trump's government, China and Russia would gain power in the oil-producing country — and the Western Hemisphere.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told Financial Times that the corporation will communicate with the White House after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated the license should be reviewed.
Wirth stated that Chevron would operate by US law and "stay out of politics," warning that if the US oil company withdrew, competing nations' state oil corporations would be able to develop in the Latin American country.
Wirth alleged that when Western nations leave Venezuela, "companies from China, from Russia, increase their presence as a result," adding how third-party studies suggest Venezuela's economy would suffer, perhaps driving migrant flows into the US.
He made his remarks soon before Trump sent his special envoy, Richard Grenell, to Venezuela on Friday to negotiate an agreement for the return of Venezuelan deportees from the US.
Chevron has been operating in Venezuela for nearly a century, and its licenses have been renewed several times, including by the first Trump administration.
Joe Biden awarded Chevron a license to expand its Venezuelan operations in 2022. Broad sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry were abolished in October 2023, enabling corporations to conduct a deal with PDVSA, the country's state-owned oil company.
After the US largely alleged the Venezuelan elections were fraudulent, sanctions were reinstated last April, but individual exemption licenses, including Chevron's, remained in place.
Chevron's Venezuelan output has increased to around 200,000 barrels per day thanks to this permit.
During his confirmation hearing last month, Rubio claimed speaking to lawmakers that the Biden administration "got played" by Maduro, without detailing how, saying things need to be reassessed with Chevon providing billions into the government.
Meanwhile, according to Francisco Monaldi, a Latin America energy specialist at Rice University in Houston, Chinese and Russian oil corporations are unlikely to invest in Venezuela if Chevron leaves.
Wirth noted that Chevron was not interested in foreign policy and only "running a business."
