Washington
CNN
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The United States has granted limited authorization to Chevron to resume oil extraction from Venezuela after Venezuela’s government and opposition groups announced on Saturday that they had reached an agreement on humanitarian relief and continued negotiations to resolve the country’s long-running economic and political crisis. A focus 2024 election.
A senior Biden is an executive officer He described Saturday’s announcements as “important steps in the right direction” but noted that more remains to be done as both parties work toward a more permanent solution to the current crisis. The official highlighted the limited nature of the license, adding that they do not expect it to have a tangible impact on international oil prices and that the move is being taken as a trigger for negotiations – not a reaction to high global oil prices.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued Venezuela General License 41 on Saturday, which authorizes Chevron to “resume limited natural resource extraction activities in Venezuela,” according to a Treasury Department news release. It’s a 6-month license, and the US can revoke it at any time. In addition, any profits earned will repay the debt to Chevron, not the Maduro regime, according to the senior official, who says the US government will continue to require significant reporting by Chevron about its financial activities.
“GL 41 only authorizes activity related to Chevron’s joint ventures in Venezuela, and does not authorize other activities with the PdVSA. Other sanctions and U.S.-imposed restrictions related to Venezuela remain in place; the U.S. will vigorously enforce these sanctions and pursue any actor in Venezuela who engages in corruption, violates U.S. laws, or violates human rights.” to take responsibility,” the statement said. PdVSA is the state-owned Venezuelan oil and gas company.
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told Bloomberg TV earlier this year that in the event of a meltdown, it would take months and years for the country to restore its oil fields and there would not be an “immediate” effect on oil production.
Future targeted sanctions relief is possible if the Venezuelan regime continues to take concrete steps to reach a negotiated settlement, the official said.
