Chevron's Long Game In Venezuela
Bloomberg Businessweek|July 15, 2019

The American oil giant is helping prop up the beleaguered nation’s energy industry, positioning itself for post-Maduro prosperity.

Peter Millard and Fabiola Zerpa
Chevron's Long Game In Venezuela

Donald Trump may have slammed Venezuela with sanctions in an effort to change the regime of President Nicolás Maduro, but the country’s energy industry has an unlikely ally: Chevron Corp.

Despite the U.S. administration’s push to disrupt the financial resources available to Venezuela’s leadership, the second-biggest U.S. oil company is working to bolster one of the Maduro government’s chief economic pillars—its ability to produce crude oil. Chevron is helping tap four fields in the country while testing new injection technologies to maximize production in one, says a person familiar with the operations who asked not to be named because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter. Chevron is also helping pay for supplies, expenses, and even health care for workers at state-owned oil producer Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) to keep the crude flowing, says that person.

Chevron’s actions are an attempt to play the long game in economically ravaged Venezuela. U.S. and European rivals have largely abandoned the country, but Chevron is betting on a future payoff if it stays put in a country with 303 billion barrels of proven crude reserves, or about 7 billion more than Saudi Arabia. If Maduro retains power, Chevron will keep its tenuous—but still profitable— foothold in Venezuela. If he’s forced out and U.S. sanctions end, the company could be first in line to gain from the country’s vast geologic riches.

“They will try to hang on for as long as they can,” says Francisco Monaldi, a lecturer in energy economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. “I think they realize there’s going to be an oil opening different from Brazil, Mexico, or Venezuela in the past. They will have to open up the best fields” to international oil companies.

Denne historien er fra July 15, 2019-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra July 15, 2019-utgaven av Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKSe alt
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 mins  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023