Chevron can resume oil import operations from Venezuela with President Donald Trump’s blessing, according to reports.
While details of the licensing approval are not yet clear, this marks a limited but significant change in import policy for the Trump administration toward the socialist dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro.
In February, President Trump revoked an oil license granted by former President Joe Biden to Chevron in 2022, allowing it to operate in Venezuela. At the time, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “We are hereby reversing the concessions that Crooked Joe Biden gave to Nicolás Maduro, of Venezuela, on the oil transaction agreement, dated November 26, 2022, and also having to do with Electoral conditions within Venezuela, which have not been met by the Maduro regime.”
“Additionally, the regime has not been transporting the violent criminals that they sent into our Country (the Good Ole’ U.S.A.) back to Venezuela at the rapid pace that they had agreed to,” Trump continued.
“I am therefore ordering that the ineffective and unmet Biden ‘Concession Agreement’ be terminated as of the March 1st option to renew. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump added.
But the Trump administration this week reissued a license, allowing Chevron to resume.
Per the Washington Post:
As under its previous license, issued by the Biden administration during negotiations with Maduro that were ultimately unsuccessful in forcing free elections there, Chevron is allowed to produce and export oil from Venezuela to the United States, according to four people familiar with the decision who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue.
The sharp turnaround on Chevron came as the administration last week arranged for the return home of 252 Venezuelans it had deported to a “counterterrorism” prison in El Salvador in exchange for the release of 10 U.S. citizens and permanent residents it said were “unjustly imprisoned in Venezuela.”
The Post added that the newly issued license “reflects ongoing policy revisions to more closely conform to President Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ agenda.”
This move also comes roughly three months after Chevron announced a massive project, kicking off oil and natural gas production from the Ballymore subsea tieback in the Gulf of America.
As Breitbart News reported:
A fact sheet provided to Breitbart News notes that this is far more efficient, as the project leverages “standardized equipment, repeatable engineering solutions, and existing transportation infrastructure.”
Along with the reality that Chevron strives to maintain “one of the lowest carbon intensity oil and natural gas basins in the world,” this will help Chevron with its goal of producing 300,000 net barrels of oil per day in the Gulf of America alone by 2026. If achieved, this would be a 50 percent increase from 2024 and position the country for one of its prime goals of reaching energy dominance in a growing and more demanding world.
This move has been described as yet another major step towards energy independence and dominance for the United States of America — one of President Trump’s many policy goals.
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