German media: Venezuela's oil industry can't do without the US

US oil giant Chevron is crucial to Venezuela's economic development. One-quarter of Venezuela's exported oil is produced by Chevron, and the company is not affected by sanctions.

Just as US President Trump ordered the arrest of Venezuelan leader Maduro, Chevron celebrated its 100th anniversary of operating in Venezuela.

Chevron is currently the only major US oil company in Venezuela. There is no doubt that the company will play a vital role in Venezuela's future economic development.

"If the Venezuelan oil market opens up, Chevron can benefit immediately," Francisco J. Monaldi, an expert on Latin American energy policy at Rice University in Houston, Texas, told Reuters.

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, estimated at about 300 billion barrels, accounting for about 17% of the world's proven oil reserves. According to OPEC data, the country currently produces about 1 million barrels of oil per day, with Chevron's production accounting for a quarter of that.

OPEC data also shows that Venezuela's crude oil exports fell from nearly 2 million barrels per day in 2015 to less than 500,000 barrels per day in 2021. Since 2023, exports have seen a slight recovery. In 2024, exports reached 655,000 barrels per day, and in November 2025, they climbed to 921,000 barrels per day.

"This increase is due to Chevron," Monaldi explained in an interview with Deutsche Welle last month. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, US sanctions on Venezuela were somewhat relaxed.

Chevron is exempt from sanctions

For example, in November 2022, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) granted Chevron a temporary exemption, allowing it to resume exporting crude oil from its joint ventures in Venezuela. In October 2025, Chevron was again allowed to operate oil fields in Venezuela.

Venezuelan President Maduro was very pleased and announced on the state television TeleSUR: "Chevron has been operating in Venezuela for 100 years, and I hope the company can continue to operate smoothly here for another 100 years."

Before the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA in 2019, and before blocking its access to the US financial market in 2017, the US was Venezuela's largest oil buyer. After that, Venezuela's oil production and exports declined sharply.

Currently, China is Venezuela's largest oil buyer. According to an analysis by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), about two-thirds of Venezuela's oil exports went to China in 2023, and 23% went to the United States.

The oil industry may see a "gold rush"

Historically, US companies in Venezuela have also suffered significant losses. For example, ExxonMobil left the country in 2007, when then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez (1954-2013) ordered that the state-owned Venezuelan Petroleum Company (PDVSA) must hold at least 60% equity in all heavy oil projects.

ConocoPhillips was also hit by the wave of nationalization in Venezuela's oil industry. Since leaving Venezuela in 2007, the company has been involved in a prolonged arbitration process with Venezuela.

Trump hoped for a "gold rush" in Venezuela after the overthrow of the Maduro regime: "We will send large US oil companies to Venezuela to invest billions of dollars, repair severely damaged infrastructure, especially oil infrastructure, and start making money," he said at a press conference on Saturday.

The American Petroleum Institute (API), the largest trade association for the US oil and gas industry, expressed more cautious wording in a statement on January 4: "We are closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, including its potential impact on the global energy market," an API spokesperson told Reuters.

Chevron CEO Mike Wirth has not publicly commented on the situation in Venezuela. However, he made comments on the increasingly tense relationship between Washington and Caracas at a US-Mexico investment forum in Washington at the end of November.

Looking back today, these words almost seem prophetic: "We look long-term. We want to be involved when the situation changes and help shape the reconstruction of Venezuela's economy."

Source: DW

US military captures Venezuelan president

Original: toutiao.com/article/1853647489510536/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself