Chevron to Boost Exports of Venezuelan Oil to US in March

Oil producer Chevron is set to boost exports of Venezuelan crude to the U.S. to some 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) in March, from 100,000 bpd in December and some 230,000 bpd so far this month, two sources with knowledge of the plans said on Wednesday.

The U.S. company, which is the main partner of Venezuela's state-run energy firm PDVSA, has chartered about a dozen tankers to increase shipments and drain inventories accumulated at its projects since December, when a U.S. blockade hit the OPEC country's exports, leaving millions of barrels stored in onshore tanks and vessels.

Four Chevron-PDVSA oil joint ventures are producing between 240,000 and 250,000 bpd of heavy crude grades that are popular among U.S. Gulf Coast refiners. Output cuts applied by PDVSA to some oilfields since early January did not hit Chevron's projects, separate sources said.

Chevron, which for months was the only company authorized by Washington to export Venezuelan oil to the U.S. as part of an exemption to sanctions, is now competing with trading houses Vitol and Trafigura, which earlier this month were granted U.S. licenses to export Venezuelan oil and fuel to the U.S. and other destinations under a flagship $2 billion supply deal.

Chevron said it remains "committed to its present as well as its future, while strengthening U.S. energy and regional security." PDVSA did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

In a meeting between oil executives and U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, Chevron's Vice Chairman Mark Nelson said the company would be able to increase crude loading in Venezuela by 100% immediately and boost production by 50% within the next two years.

Chevron is seeking to build new infrastructure and fix existing equipment, he told Trump when asked about the company's plans.

"It's a little bit of a mix, but today it's mostly us taking the equipment up today, getting it to the standards that we are accustomed to ... most of the investments that we've been making are about getting it up to our standards," Nelson said.

Trump is pushing a $100 billion reconstruction plan for Venezuela's oil industry after U.S. forces earlier this month captured President Nicolas Maduro.

A government led by interim President Delcy Rodriguez is now ruling the country and working to have a sweeping reform of the nation's main oil law approved in record time to begin making that investment possible.

(Reuters)