The American corporation Chevron, through its joint ventures with Pdvsa, produced approximately 242,000 barrels of crude oil per day in January 2025. Photo: Roo Reynolds.
Guacamaya, March 4, 2025. The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Tuesday that Chevron Corporation will have until April 3 to wind down its operations in Venezuela. General License 41 is being replaced by License 41A, offering a window of just 30 days to cease producing and exporting oil.
Tuesday’s announcement appears to be a response to a post on Truth Social on February 26. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Maduro had not respected “electoral conditions” and was not accepting deported migrants at the agreed-upon pace.
The office, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, is typically responsible for imposing sanctions on individuals, organizations, and, in some cases, entire states. In 2019, following the imposition of financial sanctions on Venezuela, the first Trump administration prohibited all transactions with Pdvsa, effectively blocking the oil sector. The goal was to strangle the national economy to provoke a regime change.
Chevron received General License 41 to resume operations in Venezuela and recover its substantial debts under the Joe Biden administration in November 2022. This exception was also made because Chevron is the primary American company operating in the country. Through its four joint ventures with Pdvsa, it produced 242,000 barrels of crude oil per day in January, according to a report by the Venezuelan state oil company.
Three European companies also hold OFAC licenses to operate in Venezuela: Eni, Maurel et Prom, and Repsol. These companies produced around 88,000 barrels per day through their joint ventures with Pdvsa. Together with Chevron, they contribute 30% of Venezuela’s total production, which stands at 1,068,000 barrels per day. However, these are “specific licenses” and therefore private, unlike General License 41. It has not been announced whether they will also have 30 days to dismantle their operations in the South American country.
British corporations BP and Shell previously received licenses to develop natural gas fields covering both Venezuelan and Trinidad and Tobago waters. They have requested extensions of up to 15 years from OFAC to secure their investments, which are inherently long-term in nature.
Global Oil, the company of American magnate Harry Sargeant III, holds a specific license to export Venezuelan heavy crude oil, which supplies the Isla Refinery in Curaçao and other ports in the Caribbean and the United States.
