Venezuela to maintain oil production despite US anti-Chevron order

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Mar 2025 08:06

Nicolas Maduro affirms that Venezuela will continue producing oil despite the US administration's decision to revoke Chevron's license in the Latin American country.

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro speaks with the press after holding a meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on October 15, 2021. (AFP)

Venezuela will continue producing oil, President Nicolas Maduro stated on Wednesday, only a day after his American counterpart Donald Trump ordered energy giant Chevron to halt all operations in the country.

The oil giant has been working in Venezuela for decades, first engaging in exploration in 1923 and later discovering the Boscan field in 1946. It now produces at least a million barrels of crude daily and exports 250,000, generating significant revenue for the Latin American nation.

On Tuesday, the United States ordered Chevron to halt its operations within 30 days, an arbitrary timeframe the industry considers "unrealistic". It is worth noting that Chevron’s continued operations are a crucial part of the relationship between the US and Venezuela, with Washington being supplied with at least 200,000 barrels each day.

Maduro slammed the US order, saying, "The government sanctioned a US company. Trying to harm the Venezuelan economy, they are hurting themselves because we are going to continue producing, recovering, growing and nothing and nobody is going to stop us."

An economic disaster for Venezuela

Experts warn that losing Chevron-linked exports could push Venezuela into recession, forcing more people to leave the country.

For Maduro, it would mean an immediate depletion of already scarce foreign reserves, cutting off an estimated $150-200 million per month.

Chevron partnered with state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) in four crude oil projects, while other companies, including Spain’s Repsol and France’s Maurel & Prom, also hold individual operating licenses in the country.

However, as it fought to maintain a special license to continue operating in Venezuela, Chevron warned that if Trump pulled it out, China and Russia would gain power in the oil-producing country — and the Western Hemisphere.

CEO Mike Wirth stated that Chevron would operate according to 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 Latin American countries.

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.