Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News
In the days after Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in Venezuela’s presidential election despite ample evidence he lost, Chevron (NYSE:CVX) executives told Biden administration officials it was critical to allow the company to continue pumping oil in the country, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Chevron (CVX) reportedly said in meetings with White House and State Department officials that its presence in Venezuela bolsters global oil supplies and U.S. energy security, and that it serves U.S. interests as a bulwark there against geopolitical adversaries gaining additional footholds in the country.
The company is said to have been careful not to advocate specific policies, but its message that its oil production should continue in Venezuela has carried weight with the administration, according to the report.
Maduro has since rounded up hundreds of dissidents, testing whether the Biden administration will reimpose stricter sanctions, including on the oil sector, which is Venezuela’s most important industry.
Chevron (CVX) has ~250 employees and another 3,000 people working across its joint venture operations in Venezuela, and is trying to recoup billions in debt owed by the Maduro government.
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