(AP, 1.Feb.2019) — Chevron Corp. says its operations in Venezuela will continue normally for the “foreseeable future” despite newly imposed U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA.
Chevron has four joint-venture operations for exploration and production with PDVSA, as the Venezuelan company is known. The Trump administration has banned U.S. companies from doing business with PDVSA but allowed a six-month grace period for companies with ongoing operations in the South American country.
Chevron CEO Michael Wirth says that, “For the foreseeable future, we feel like we can maintain a good stable operation and a safe operation on the ground in Venezuela.” He spoke Friday in a conference call with Wall Street analysts.
Wirth also said Chevron’s refining operations in the U.S. are well-prepared to handle an expected disruption of Venezuelan crude supply due to the sanctions. Wirth says Chevron had a contingency plan in place in anticipation of the sanctions and has alternate sourcing.
He says most of the Venezuelan crude oil it buys goes to its Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi. He said “we will keep the refinery full with crude.”
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