Exports of synthetic oil from Chevron’s Petropiar project are expected to rise about 50% to about 143,000 barrels a day this month, the highest since March 2018. Petropiar’s output has grown 37% in the past year to 110,000 barrels a day in January, said a person with knowledge of the operations, who asked not to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly.
President Nicolas Maduro is benefiting from the slow revival of Venezuela’s oil industry, the regime’s top revenue producer, after his release of US prisoners and decision to accept immigrants deported from the US — after a meeting with Trump envoy Richard Grenell — calmed fears of additional sanctions. Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth said earlier this month that Venezuelan oil could be more important for the US if it imposes tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which produce crude similar to Venezuela’s grades.
“The Trump administration’s immediate priority is immigration, not Venezuela’s re-democratization,” said Fernando Ferreira, Rapidan Energy Group’s director of geopolitical risk. “The Maduro-Grenell meeting is promising for Petroleos de Venezuela SA and Western oil companies operating in Venezuela, and supportive for Venezuelan production.”
Chevron’s ability to expand in Venezuela is still limited by sanctions, which allow the company to boost drilling and operations only within the bounds of contracts it had in 2019. The Houston-based company has bolstered operations by securing electricity supply to drilling pads and replacing equipment such as coiled tubing, a person with knowledge of the situation said.
Chevron said in a statement it continues to carry out business in Venezuela in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
The oil major boosted production at another project, the Petroboscan, by 40% in the past year to 101,000 barrels a day in January, according to a person with knowledge of the situation and PDVSA data. Electricity and gas supply failures that slowed production during previous years have been partially ameliorated, according to the person
