By Marianna Parraga and Jarrett Renshaw
HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Chevron is expected to receive an expanded Venezuela license from the U.S. government this week that could allow for increased production and exports from the South American country, three oil industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
The U.S. oil producer is anticipated to be one of several firms to get approvals from President Donald Trump’s administration to do business in Venezuela as oil companies, traders and refiners look for access to the country’s heavy crude after the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, sources said.
U.S.-based Marathon Petroleum, for example, is in discussions with the administration to receive Venezuelan crude for its refineries, according to a separate source familiar with the discussions.
U.S.-based Valero Energy and global traders Mercuria and Glencore have also been in talks for licenses from Washington to do business with Venezuela, industry sources said.
A Chevron spokesperson said in a statement that the company operates in compliance with all laws, regulations and sanctions frameworks. Marathon, Valero, Mercuria and Glencore did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It does not generally comment on specific licenses or licensing requests.
Reuters reported last week that Chevron was in talks with the U.S. to expand its license to operate in Venezuela so it could increase crude exports to its own refineries and sell to other buyers. The company could even trade a portion of state oil company PDVSA’s own crude production if authorized, sources said.
Chevron is the only American oil major currently producing crude in Venezuela, with some 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) in joint ventures with PDVSA. Since July, it has been operating there and exporting oil to the U.S. under a restricted U.S. authorization that exempts it from sanctions on the country.
Between late 2022 and early 2025, Chevron’s Venezuela license had been more permissive, which led to expanded output capacity, facility repairs and increased exports. But as part of Washington’s strategy to oust Maduro, the license was restricted last year, which halved exports compared to early 2025 levels.
Chevron’s shares have risen nearly 9% since U.S. forces removed Maduro from power earlier this month and interim President Delcy Rodriguez took office.
FIRST OIL SALES COMPLETED
The U.S. has completed the first sales of Venezuelan oil that are part of a $2 billion deal between Caracas and Washington, a U.S. official told Reuters on Wednesday, adding that additional sales are expected in the coming days and weeks.
Chevron and global trading houses Vitol and Trafigura have been competing for U.S. government deals to export the Venezuelan crude, Reuters previously reported.
The jostling for deals comes after the U.S. said it aims to control Venezuelan oil sales indefinitely. On Friday, a group of top oil executives spanning producers and service companies convened at the White House for a meeting, in which Trump urged them to invest as much as $100 billion to reactivate the OPEC country’s oil industry and boost output.
(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston and Jarrett Renshaw in Washington, with additional reporting by Sheila Dang, Arathy Somasekhar and Tim Gardner; Editing by Nathan Crooks and Jamie Freed)
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