US Ending OFAC License for Chevron in Venezuela, State Department Confirms
The Trump administration confirmed this week it will not renew a general license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control that has allowed Chevron to wind down certain oil activities in Venezuela.
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"This is the last hurrah," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters May 27. "That will expire at 11:59 this evening."
The OFAC license had allowed Chevron to carry out certain transactions “ordinarily incident and necessary to the wind down of transactions” related to Chevron’s joint ventures in Venezuela involving state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela (see 2503240029). The Trump administration had previously renewed the license in April (see 2503040033). Trump has said he wants to end most sanctions relief for the country, which he said has benefited the regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro (see 2502260056).
Bruce, speaking during a press conference, said Secretary of State Marco Rubio "made clear last week" that the license would expire. Rubio said in a May 21 social media post that the license would expire "as scheduled" on May 27.
"That, of course, is going to be felt," Bruce said, adding that the administration is ending "all Biden-era oil and gas licenses that benefited the Maduro regime and lined the pockets of his cronies. We are going to continue to deny any funding of the Maduro regime that it uses to oppress the Venezuelan people."
Bloomberg reported May 25 that Chevron was set to receive a "narrowly tailored" license that would allow it to carry out certain "minimal maintenance of essential operation" in Venezuela. Bruce said she "can't speak to that at all."