US To Withdraw Chevron License, Venezuela Calls Move ‘Damaging and Inexplicable’

Caracas, February 27, 2025 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Donald Trump administration is set to revoke Chevron’s US Treasury license to operate in Venezuela.
In a message published on social media on Wednesday, the US president announced the reversal of the November 2022 “oil transaction agreement,” in reference to General License 41 (GL41) issued by the Joe Biden White House that allowed Chevron to restart its activities in the South American nation.
“I am ordering that the ineffective and unmet Biden ‘Concession Agreement’ be terminated as of the March 1st option to renew,” Trump wrote, arguing that Caracas had not fulfilled “electoral conditions” nor accepted deportations of “violent criminals” fast enough.
Despite hardline campaign rhetoric against Venezuela, Trump began his second term by engaging with Caracas, with Special Envoy Richard Grenell holding a high-profile meeting with President Nicolás Maduro in late January. Migrant deportations were reportedly a central discussion topic, with Venezuela receiving three groups of repatriated nationals since.
The Venezuelan government issued a statement rejecting the ramped-up sanctions and recalling that US-led economic coercive measures “prompted migration with its widely known consequences.”
Caracas called the decision “damaging and inexplicable,” vowing that the economy would continue its recovery and that the measure would “hurt” the United States and its companies.
Analysts framed the move to cancel Chevron’s sanctions waiver as a short-term concession to foreign policy extremists, particularly from Florida, as the White House enters into crucial budget negotiations. Officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, alongside the Venezuelan far-right opposition, have long lobbied for the removal of General License 41.
Florida politicians, including Trump hardliners such as María Elvira Salazar, have also pushed back on the White House’s decision to revoke an extension of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans in the US. However, the lack of movement on the TPS issue suggests they prioritized a hardening of sanctions as opposed to protecting their constituents’ interests.
On Wednesday, Congressman Carlos Gimenez (R) said in a press conference that he expected “more measures” targeting Caracas in the near future. The Florida representative vowed that the Maduro administration, as well as its Cuban and Nicaraguan counterparts, had “its days numbered.”
Trump’s special envoy for Latin America, Mauricio Claver-Carone, has gone on the record to state that he feels that a “transition” in Cuba is not only “inevitable” but “imminent.” Rubio recently announced a further hardening of sanctions on Cuba and Venezuela with an expansion of an existing visa restriction policy relating to Cuba’s overseas medical missions.
For its part, the Texas-headquartered corporation has defended its role in Venezuela. CEO Mike Wirth recently stated that Chevron was “in contact” with the administration and that it held a “constructive presence” in the Caribbean country.
The license allowing Chevron to operate in Venezuela stipulated its automatic renewal on the first of each month for a six-month period. Its revocation before March 1st would establish a wind-down period that would conclude at the end of July. The administration would need to decide whether to reimpose Chevron’s prior license, which only allowed for basic maintenance operations, or seek a middle-ground solution that could include a production cap.
The US energy giant holds minority stakes in four joint projects with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA. The ventures currently produce around 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), between 20 and 25 percent of the country’s total output.
Economist Asdrúbal Oliveros estimated that the cancellation of GL41 would deprive the country of US $4 billion in revenue in 2026, which would have a significant impact on the foreign currency supply and potentially trigger inflation.
Chevron’s license was the Biden administration’s only significant departure from the “maximum pressure” campaign imposed by Trump during his first term. Washington issued General License 44 in October 2023, allowing Venezuela to freely export crude for six months, but the waiver was not renewed.
The Caribbean nation’s most important industry remains heavily constrained by coercive measures, including financial sanctions and an export embargo. The Treasury Department has explicitly threatened to levy secondary sanctions against international corporations that engage with the Venezuelan oil sector without Washington’s green light.
Apart from Chevron, European companies Repsol (Spain), Eni (Italy) and Maurel & Prom (France) also secured US approval in recent years to resume and expand their operations in several joint ventures.
The Trinidad and Tobago government has likewise sought Washington’s acquiescence to develop natural gas projects with Venezuela and international enterprises.
Trinidad’s state-owned National Gas Company (NGC) is currently engaged in two offshore gas extraction projects, in the Dragon and the Loran-Manatee fields, with Shell and BP as the main operators, respectively. PDVSA will reportedly hold no shares in the energy ventures and only collect taxes and royalties from the projects operating in Venezuelan waters.
According to Reuters, Port of Spain will seek an extension of an existing US sanctions waiver for Shell and BP to negotiate with Caracas regarding the Dragon project. The exemption allows PDVSA to receive payments in kind or hard currency but expires in October 2025.
Edited by Cira Pascual Marquina in Caracas and José Luis Granados Ceja in Mexico City, Mexico.