2023: US hands over US branch of company to Venezuelan opposition
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on May 1, 2023 condemned the decision of the American administration to transfer control of the Venezuelan opposition, united in the Unitary Platform, the American branch of the state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA Citgo.
Maduro stressed that "the brazen theft of a company estimated at $8 billion, which owns more than 10 thousand gas stations in the United States, was committed, brazenly stealing a company with an annual profit exceeding $1 billion."
He pointed out that the Venezuelan company is illegally transferred to "unknown people, the leadership of the no longer existing National Assembly," people living abroad and fleeing Venezuela.
2022
US allows Repsol and Eni to supply Venezuelan oil to Europe
Repsol (Spain) and Eni (Italy) may begin supplying oil to the EU from Venezuela as early as July 2022. Imports will become available thanks to permission from the United States, Reuters reports. Fuel volumes will be small and will have little effect on international prices, sources say.
The US government assured that Repsol and Eni do not expect any sanctions for the supply of Venezuelan oil to Europe. Funds from the sale of energy resources can be counted against overdue dividends and debts. At the same time, oil should be sold only to European countries.
The easing of conditions did not affect other companies that lobbied for American interests:
Repsol and Eni own a number of businesses in Venezuela along with PDVSA. Previously, oil exports provided about 96% of all budget revenues. Since mid-2020, European companies have stopped exchanging energy resources for debt as part of pressure on the Venezuelan government organized by US President Donald Trump.
US allows Chevron to negotiate with Venezuela on future activities in the country
On May 27, 2022, it was announced that the US Treasury would allow its companies deals with Venezuelan oil company PDVSA until December.
The permit concerns operations "necessary to serve a limited range of operations and curtail work in Venezuela." It applies to five American companies: Chevron, Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford International. The previous license was valid until June of this year.
Earlier in May, the US administration announced that the US Treasury Department had issued a general license that allows oil company Chevron to begin negotiations with the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on future activities in the country. It was emphasized that this relaxation does not yet imply the entry into joint projects with the Venezuelan oil production company PDVSA.
2021
Breakdown at the enterprise leads to a shortage of gasoline in the country
In July 2021, an acute shortage of gasoline began again in the capital of Venezuela - the country with the largest oil reserves on the planet. According to Bloomberg, the authorities introduced fuel consumption rationing after production at state refineries collapsed, forcing motorists to suffer in multi-day queues to replenish the tanks.
Shortages have returned to Caracas, forcing drivers to scour the streets for open gas stations. In some areas, queues stretch over entire blocks. Sources familiar with the situation told Bloomberg that the reason is the breakdowns at the enterprises of the state-owned company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, of which gasoline production has collapsed by more than 40% since the end of June.
Oil-for-food exchange
The oil-for-food program launched by the Venezuelan government in December 2020 to purchase food for half of the population receiving state rations collapsed after tens of millions of dollars in embezzlement revealed in the company appointed for the execution of transactions.
The Venezuelan prosecutor's office at the end of March 2021 charged top managers of the little-known company Supracquimic, which, according to the authorities, was supposed to buy barrels from the state PDVSA, and then change them for food when sold to Asia.
Cut off by US sanctions from international capital markets and the ability to sell a single export commodity - crude oil - Venezuela has been trying for more than two years to establish barter supply schemes to provide food and medicine to citizens, more than 90% of whom live on less than $2 a day.
Venezuela, which lost 30% of GDP and two-thirds of oil production in five years, could face a new food crisis in August 2021.
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