Trump Admin Restricts Chevron to 50% of Venezuelan Oil Output in Bid to Increase Pressure on Maduro: Report

Chevron is now able to export only about half of the crude its joint ventures produce in Venezuela, according to sources familiar with U.S. Treasury Department rules consulted by Reuters.

The restrictions, issued in late July, allow the U.S. oil major to keep operating in the sanctioned country but prohibit payments in any currency to the government of Nicolás Maduro.

According to the Reuters report, Chevron's joint ventures have been paying royalties and taxes with oil instead of cash to comply with the Treasury Department, leaving the company with roughly 120,000 barrels per day out of the 240,000 produced. Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA has retained control of the barrels used for these in-kind payments, either refining them domestically or exporting them separately.

The new rules mark a shift from a license granted under former President Joe Biden in 2022, which allowed Chevron to export all of its output while paying the Venezuelan government in cash. Senior U.S. officials have said the changes are intended to ensure Maduro's government does not profit from oil sales.

Chevron resumed shipments to the U.S. in August after a four-month pause, exporting about 60,000 barrels per day that month and averaging 102,000 barrels per day so far in September, vessel tracking data shows. Company CEO Mike Wirth confirmed last month that export volumes would be limited under the new arrangement.

Chevron's operations account for about 20% of Venezuela's total oil production and remain a vital lifeline for the country's economy. Previous arrangements also allowed the firm to recover a portion of the more than $3 billion owed by Venezuela, though the repayment pace has slowed under the new rules.

The revised license came shortly after a separate agreement involving the release of 10 American detainees in Venezuela in July and the deportation of roughly 250 Venezuelans from El Salvador.

The restrictions on Chevron coincide with mounting U.S. military pressure in the Caribbean, where American forces have been conducting operations targeting drug trafficking since August. Washington has framed the deployments as part of broader efforts to prevent transnational crime, while Caracas has described them as a bid to force regime change.

Chevron has said it continues to comply with all laws and sanctions frameworks in its global operations, including in Venezuela.