Chevron is in talks with the U.S. government to expand its Venezuelan operating license, a move that could restore its export capacity to 100,000 barrels per day and allow sales to other buyers. The expansion would help the company meet its own refinery needs and support a broader supply chain.

Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA is negotiating with Washington to ship up to 50 million barrels of crude to the United States under a U.S.-overseen trustee arrangement. The talks come amid a severe oil blockade that has cut the company’s inventory levels.

Under the current U.S. sanctions, the company’s export volume was capped at about 100,000 barrels per day in December, down from 250,000 barrels per day earlier in the year. The proposed license expansion would lift the cap back to the earlier level, enabling the company to resume its previous export pace and provide crude to partners outside the U.S. market.

A U.S. Treasury spokesperson said the department was fully committed to backing President Trump’s efforts on behalf of the Venezuelan people, while a PDVSA statement emphasized that the export process would be strictly commercial, legal, transparent and mutually beneficial. A PDVSA board member added that the company expects to sell its oil at market prices. Meanwhile, representatives of Valero Energy, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips have not yet responded to comment requests.

Should the license expansion be approved, Chevron would regain its former export capacity, strengthening supply to its refineries and opening new markets for Venezuelan crude. The move could also signal a broader U.S. strategy to reintegrate Venezuelan oil into global trade, potentially easing the country’s blockade‑driven supply constraints.