The United States appears inclined to let international oil companies operating in Venezuela continue their work in the country with the world's largest proven crude reserves, Oil Price reported.
Although Washington recently reimposed sanctions on Caracas' crude oil production and exports, the White House appears reluctant to disrupt the oil market and prices too much – and by extension, gasoline prices in the US – ahead of the US presidential election in November, according to the news site.
Last October, the US issued a temporary relief from sanctions until April this year, allowing the production, trade and export of oil/gas from Venezuela, as well as the provision of related goods and services, and payment of invoices for goods or services related to oil and gas sector activities in Venezuela.
The six-month sanctions relief is part of an election deal signed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's administration.
Accordingly, leading international oil traders have returned to the South American country to do business, and some oilfield service providers have also helped major international companies extract crude from their joint ventures with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.
However, after the license expired, it was not renewed and the administration of US President Joe Biden moved to reimpose sanctions, a move that drew a backlash from Caracas.
An oil pump in the Orinoco Belt near El Tigre, Anzoategui state, Venezuela. Photo: Bloomberg
License No. 44 of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which allows transactions related to oil and gas activities in Venezuela, expired at 00:01 on April 18.
But the US has issued a 45-day phase-down license and OFAC, an agency within the US Treasury Department , will also consider specific license requests to continue operations after the phase-down period ends on a case-by-case basis, the US State Department said.
One of these specific licenses was granted to Spanish energy company Repsol, which is currently producing oil in Venezuela, along with US-based Chevron, Eni, Italy's Maurel & Prom and UK-based Shell.
Repsol has been granted a license by the US Treasury Department to continue and expand its oil and gas operations in Venezuela, sources familiar with the decision told Reuters this week.
Repsol, in a joint venture with PDVSA, has a stake in the Perla Field (Cardón IV) offshore gas field, one of the largest offshore gas fields in Latin America, a 60% stake in the onshore Quiriquire gas project and a stake in the Petrocarabobo heavy crude project and the Petroquiriquire joint venture.
Just before the expiration of US License No. 44, Repsol signed an agreement with PDVSA to add two fields to its joint operations in Venezuela, doubling the country's oil production.
More special licenses could be granted to major oil companies operating in Venezuela’s oil sector. A U.S. official told Reuters this week that the U.S. Treasury Department is currently reviewing up to 50 separate license requests from companies willing to do energy business in Venezuela.
The United States “is looking for a Goldilocks solution to punishing Venezuela,” said David L. Goldwyn, president of the Atlantic Council’s Energy Advisory Group and a nonresident senior fellow at the council’s Global Energy Center.
Goldilocks is a term used to describe a situation where everything is just right. Despite the reimposition of sanctions, “Treasury has also made clear that it welcomes, over the next 45 days, specific licensing requests that serve US interests,” Mr. Goldwyn said.
Licenses are required for a wide range of energy activities including investment, oil export and import authorizations, oil and gas exploration, and contract negotiations and payments.
“The impact on the global oil market remains unclear. Much depends on how many private companies apply for debt or production swaps and whether small but important oil projects in Venezuela apply for permits,” the expert pointed out .
Minh Duc (According to Oil Price, Reuters)
Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/my-van-de-ngo-cua-cho-dau-venezuela-chay-ra-thi-truong-a665638.html
Comment (0)