NEW YORK, Jan 4, 2026, 15:11 ET
Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA has begun cutting crude output as storage fills after a U.S. export embargo — enforced through a blockade of sanctioned tankers — halted oil exports, the country’s main source of revenue, sources said. Chevron-chartered tankers that had kept moving under a U.S. authorization have not left Venezuelan waters since Thursday, while PDVSA has struggled to import diluents — lighter oil and naphtha used to thin extra-heavy crude for transport.
The export freeze puts a key OPEC supplier’s cash flow and operations at risk just as Washington’s pressure campaign tightens. Port captains have not received requests to authorize loaded ships to set sail, and several vessels bound for the United States and Asia have remained stuck, sources close to operations said.
The disruption follows the U.S. extraction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from Caracas on Saturday, with President Donald Trump saying the United States would oversee a political transition. Trump said the oil embargo on Venezuela was in full effect and said U.S. oil companies would spend billions to restore the country’s output.
Trump announced the tanker blockade in December and the United States seized two cargoes of Venezuelan oil, prompting many vessel owners to divert away from Venezuelan waters and lifting inventories, sources familiar with PDVSA operations said. The U.S. strike to remove Maduro caused no damage to Venezuela’s oil production and refining facilities, the sources said, even as the blockade cut December exports to about half of the roughly 950,000 barrels per day shipped in November.
Chevron is the only U.S. major still operating in Venezuela, while Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips left after their projects were nationalized nearly two decades ago. Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America Energy Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute, said Chevron is best positioned for any reopening, but added: “The company that probably will be very interested in going back is Conoco, because they are owed more than $10 billion.” Reuters
Major U.S. oil companies have not committed publicly to any Venezuela investment push. Chevron told Fox News Digital it was following relevant laws and regulations and remained focused on employee safety and asset integrity, while ConocoPhillips said it was monitoring developments and it would be premature to speculate; ExxonMobil did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Fox Business reported.
Chevron’s ability to operate hinges on a U.S. Treasury authorization administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, which grants a narrow exception to sanctions. The license allows Chevron to operate only in shared projects and prevents it from starting new ones, while cash flows are restricted so they do not benefit PDVSA, Euronews reported.
Barron’s said Maduro’s capture was a geopolitical shock but was unlikely to drive a big near-term change in Chevron’s stock story because its Venezuelan barrels sit inside a compliance and debt-recovery framework that limits earnings visibility.
But turning Venezuela’s vast reserves into higher exports is unlikely to produce quick barrels, even if sanctions loosen. Analysts say output recovery would take years and depends on political stability, contract terms and significant repair work after decades of underinvestment and operational decline.
Oil prices are likely to rise when benchmark futures resume trading later Sunday on concern that the turmoil could disrupt supply, though analysts said ample global supply could cap gains. OPEC+ was expected to maintain its current output policy, limiting the immediate market impact of Venezuela’s disruption.
