Few companies are as well-positioned as the American oil company Chevron to rebuild Venezuela's oil sector after the United States' attack on the country that led to the arrest of President and dictator Nicolás Maduro on Saturday, January 3rd.
Maduro's departure from power opens a strategic window for Chevron, which has maintained a presence in Venezuela for decades (the company began exploring for oil in the country in 1923), even amid sanctions and political instability during the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.
Currently, Chevron's operations in Venezuela are limited by special US licenses that prohibit royalty and tax payments to the Maduro government.
With the fall of the regime and the eventual normalization of diplomatic relations, these restrictions could be eliminated, allowing for more lucrative contracts and greater predictability for investments.
The company produces approximately 200,000 barrels per day through various joint ventures with the Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA. Part of this production is exported to American refineries on the Gulf Coast.
Ali Moshiri, then head of Chevron for Latin America, had a close relationship with Chávez and sought to build a partnership with the Venezuelan president instead of leaving.
“You can’t have an ‘in and out’ attitude,” Moshiri said in a 2005 interview with Bloomberg News . “We have to go where the oil is.”
And there is a lot, a lot of oil in Venezuela. The country possesses about 17% of the world's known oil reserves, equivalent to more than 300 billion barrels, a volume almost four times greater than that of the US and higher than that of Saudi Arabia, according to international energy sector organizations.
A full resumption of operations would give Chevron a privileged position compared to European and Asian competitors, especially in an energy transition scenario where Venezuelan heavy oil remains relevant for specialized refineries.
Furthermore, the company could explore opportunities in natural gas and even strategic minerals, should new policies allow partnerships in this sector.
This advantage stems from a pragmatic stance taken by the executives who run the oil company. Mike Wirth, CEO of Chevron, said last December that he remained firmly convinced that the company would stay in Venezuela.
“We don’t choose where the resource is,” Wirth stated at the Wall Street Journal CEO summit. “If we walked out every time we disagreed with a government, we’d end up walking out of everywhere—including this country.”
By all indications, this position may now be rewarded.
