How Chevron Got Caught in the Clash Between the U.S. and Venezuela

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When Chevron won a new license to drill in Venezuela, it celebrated a return to one of the world’s richest oil regions, where it had operated for more than a century. Three months later, the company is in a bind.

The Trump administration has amassed the biggest American military buildup in the Caribbean since the 1980s to exert pressure on Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. has carried out airstrikes on alleged drug boats, killing dozens. Land targets could come next, President Trump has said.

For Chevron and its joint ventures, which employ about 3,000 people in the Latin American country, the tense situation is a reminder of the dangers that come with operating in an authoritarian state in Washington’s crosshairs. B-52 bombers now fly above waters where its oil tankers sail.

“Our top priority is the safety of our personnel, the communities in which we operate, the environment and the integrity of our joint-venture assets,” a Chevron spokesman said. He referred any questions about the security situation in Venezuela to the U.S. government.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth has orchestrated a yearslong campaign to keep Venezuela open for oil production. He told senior U.S. officials that if his company couldn’t pump oil in Venezuela, China would do so instead and lay claim to the region’s oil riches.

In the midst of uncertainty about the status of Chevron’s license earlier this year, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez visited Beijing on a mission to shore up economic ties with China, the largest buyer of its crude oil.

Wirth spent much of the summer lobbying for an extension to Chevron’s license to drill in Venezuela after the Trump administration revoked its permit. His argument that its departure could curtail American influence in the region resonated with Trump’s team—and overcame opposition from U.S. hard-liners determined to oust Maduro.

Chevron has long calculated that it has the means and resilience to outlast changing governments in Caracas and Washington alike. It has remained committed to operating in Venezuela even after Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips pulled out when their assets were nationalized.

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The U.S. has sanctions in place that prohibit companies from trading Venezuelan oil; Chevron’s license is essentially an exemption to the rule. Trump has warned that he will level hefty tariffs on countries that buy oil from Caracas.

At the same time, Chevron has faced years of criticism for aiding, even indirectly, Maduro’s hold on power.

“What you have is a conflict between the interests of one oil company and the United States,” said Elliott Abrams, who was the U.S.’s top envoy to Venezuela during the first Trump administration.

Maduro, he said, can tell his constituents that the Chevron deal shows the U.S. isn’t serious about its anti-Maduro stance. “It undermines the political argument the United States is making,” Abrams added.

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Chevron is handing over to the Maduro regime about half its oil production in the country as payment under the new license, according to people close to the Venezuelan government. Vessel-tracking data from the market-intelligence firm Kpler shows oil exports from Venezuela to the U.S. fell to about 133,000 barrels a day in September, from about 300,000 in December, when the prior license was in effect.

Much of Venezuela’s share ends up in China through sales on the black market, according to the Kpler data, which also shows that Venezuelan exports to China have risen in recent months and overall shipments have remained flat.

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The first Trump administration moved to curtail Chevron’s operations in Venezuela as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign against Maduro’s rule, which had plunged the country into economic turmoil. Maduro withstood the pressure, and in late 2022, the Biden administration allowed Chevron to go back in. When Trump returned to office, he revoked the license again, before reinstating it in July.

The terms of Chevron’s new license, which prohibits cash payments to the Maduro government, are thought to be less profitable to the regime than those under the Biden-era permit.

The previous permit allowed Chevron to sell all the oil it pumped, and Venezuela’s proceeds were funneled through private banks to the local economy.

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For now, Venezuela wants Chevron to keep pumping.

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