Chevron CEO says oil output in Venezuela up 50,000 bpd after sanctions shift

Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Michael Wirth on Friday said the recent shift in U.S. sanctions on Venezuela allowed its local joint venture to raise short-term production in the country by 50,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) to 90,000 bpd.

Wirth also said the U.S. license that allowed the reopening of flows shut by Washington’s sanctions for almost four years gave the company more involvement in decision making in the country, where it has a joint venture with PDVSA.

But the lack of infrastructure and the length of its U.S. production license being just six months limited expansion beyond 90,000 bpd, he said.

“That has been a good short-term effect,” Wirth said in a webcast with analysts, adding that he couldn’t say that further prodution trends could be extrapolated from that.

“We are continuing to work on the ground to expand production, but it is too early to guide to anything,” Wirth said about potential production expansion.

Chevron has not registered profit from Venezuela in the fourth quarter. Wirth said the company uses cost affiliate accounting, which means it will only record earnings if it receives cash.

“At this point, I would say the cash flows are expected to be modest,” Wirth said.
Source: Reuters