Bloomberg reported that US oil company Chevron has resumed drilling at a major oil field in Venezuela in a bid to increase production just as Washington threatens to increase sanctions on the country, adding that work in the heavy crude oil zone of the Orinoco Belt has been underway since mid-February.

This was expected as Chevron declined to comment on reports in September 2023.

The region comprises Chevron's maybe only short-term potential to enhance output in Venezuela, as the company's other two fields are expected to fall shortly.

According to Bloomberg, the activity is part of a larger plan to dig up to 30 additional wells by 2025.

Media reports have shown that the US-based energy company plans to boost production by 65,000 barrels of oil a day by the end of 2024, pushing its total output to 200,000 bpd in its joint venture with Venezuela's state-owned energy company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).

The US has heavily sanctioned Caracas' oil sector only to lift some of them in late 2022.

The US Treasury provided Chevron with a new license in November last year to extract oil in Venezuela for six months through its joint venture partners, such as PDVSA. However, this license does not allow for the expansion of operations or new US investments in Venezuela's oil sector, which has been recently rumored.

Drilling is underway at the Petroindependencia field, which is located on the plains of the Orinoco Belt and has the world's largest extra-heavy oil reserves.

A second drill is scheduled for deployment in July. Unlike other Chevron-managed regions, the field is undeveloped, and PDVSA expects to produce up to 400 thousand barrels per day at full capacity.

Chevron has relocated some white-collar staff to a nearby city, according to one source, while service providers like Weatherford International Plc. have returned to work for the corporation.

Venezuelan oil shipments to the United States were around 200,000 barrels per day in February, the highest amount since November 2022, when the license was given.

Nonetheless, the amount is half of what Venezuela shipped to the United States before sanctions were imposed in January 2019.

Although Chevron is the only Western supermajor given special permission to explore oil reserves and export from Venezuela, Washington has hinted that further authorizations may be granted in the future due to global supply problems.