The Biden administration has renewed a license partially exempting Chevron from sanctions on Venezuela so it can keep operating in the oil-rich, socialist-run nation.
By AP News – Joshua Goodman
May 27, 2022
The license issued Friday by the U.S. Treasury Department allows the California-based Chevron and other U.S. companies to perform only basic upkeep of wells it operates jointly with state-run oil giant PDVSA, dashing the hopes of those who wanted to see a resumption of exports to ease pricing pressure at American pumps.
Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and ensuing international sanctions targeting Russia’s oil industry have led the Biden administration to reconsider longstanding policies isolating two other oil powers: Venezuela and Iran.
In March, three senior Biden officials traveled to Caracas to meet with President Nicolás Maduro to try to lure him back to negotiations with the U.S.-backed opposition and release several Americans imprisoned for years. Their carrot: the possible lifting of crippling oil sanctions imposed in 2019 after Maduro breezed into a second term following elections considered undemocratic by the U.S. and dozens of allies.
While Maduro has welcomed the surprise outreach, joking that he wanted to soon travel to New York to attend a salsa festival, there’s been little progress since.
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Read More: AP News – Biden renews sanctions license for Chevron in Venezuela
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