When account is taken of the sustained squeeze that the Trump administration has placed on the administration of President Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, targeting particularly the country’s oil & gas sector, the country can be considered as having been afforded some breathing space in recent months.
Recent reports emanating from Oil Price, a US industry news source, indicate that Chevron, currently the only United States company still permitted by Washington to operate in Venezuela, has been collaborating with the Venezuelan state-run firm, PDVSA, to boost the country’s oil production to its highest level in almost a year.
Chevron has boosted oil production at its joint venture with Venezuela’s PDVSA to the highest in almost a year, on account of the efforts of Petroboscan, the joint venture operated jointly by the US super major, which holds a 30% stake in the joint venture and the state-run PDVSA. The two reportedly produced around 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) with 34,000 barrels bpd being Chevron’s share.