Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, is mapping out several strategies to keep the oil flowing from its largest joint venture with Chevron, as a U.S. license allowing the major American company to operate there is set to expire next month. This comes from a corporate document reviewed by Reuters.
Just recently, the Trump administration gave Chevron a deadline to phase out its oil activities and exports from Venezuela to the U.S. by early April. This transition follows a license they were operating under since 2022. Chevron’s involvement in Venezuela, sanctioned by the U.S., is characterized by several joint ventures. Among these, Petropiar in the substantial Orinoco Belt stands out as exceptionally significant.
PDVSA is gearing up to maintain Petropiar’s production of heavy crude oil, planning to churn out between 105,000 and 138,000 barrels each day, which aligns with the company’s recent output levels. This strategy is outlined in the document.
As part of these plans, parts of the crude output will be directed to domestic refineries, and some byproducts like vacuum gasoil will accompany them. The rest will be shipped to international markets, excluding the U.S. The utilization of vacuum gasoil plays a crucial role for PDVSA, enabling the production of low-octane gasoline for the local market.
The primary aim for PDVSA with these adjustments is to keep Petropiar’s production steady and avoid needing to shut down the upgrader or any of the involved oilfields, according to a source familiar with the company’s operations.
Neither PDVSA nor Chevron has yet responded to requests for comments regarding the plans.
To tackle potential shortages of diluents crucial for Petropiar’s operations, PDVSA intends to increase the recycling of imported naphtha and supplement it with other diluents from the Paraguana refining complex.
Moreover, the current movement of tankers used by Chevron to transfer Venezuelan crude between local ports for export purposes is anticipated to be reduced, as detailed in the document. Some units within Petropiar’s crude upgrader are also slated for a shift in operations. They will be converted to produce other necessary materials instead of only crude oil, reflecting a similar approach taken in 2020 when Trump’s first administration imposed tighter restrictions on Chevron’s operations.
This article was reported by Reuters, written by Marianna Parraga, and edited by Lisa Shumaker.
