Chevron CEO lowers expectations for Venezuela oil recovery

Chevron’s CEO, Mike Wirth, said that he lowered his expectations for a quick recovery of oil production in Venezuela. 

According to the Chevron CEO, there is no quick and easy way to reactivate oil production in Venezuela. It would take "months and years to start maintaining and refurbishing fields and equipment and changing any investment activity," Wirth told Bloomberg.

"We depend on service providers and others. So mobilizing people, equipment, and materials take some time," Wirth said.

“At this point, it's very hypothetical. I don't know how the policy would play out, but it wouldn't be an instant effect," he added.

The Biden administration had been looking at scaling back sanctions imposed against Venezuela and allowing Chevron to resume Venezuelan oil exports to the U.S. 

However, the U.S. government has stated that in order to resume oil exports with the South American country, the regime of Nicolas Maduro will have to engage in talks with the opposition. 

“My hope would be that the Maduro regime re-engages in a meaningful way and we can actually put the country back on the track to democracy and, at the same time, help alleviate the humanitarian situation ... almost catastrophic humanitarian environment that has caused so many Venezuelans to flee their own country,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in October. 

Wirth claimed that Chevron is not lobbying to lift sanctions in Venezuela, despite being the only U.S. company producing oil in Venezuela. 

"There are discussions that have been reported in the media within management that we are not necessarily part of," Wirth said. He explained that they currently operate "within the license that the government has given us to comply with those sanctions. Today we have a very limited ability to try to ensure the safety of our people and the integrity of the assets."