Chevron could increase its crude oil production in Venezuela by up to 50% over the next 18 to 24 months, Chairman and CEO Mike Wirth said during the company’s quarterly earnings call on Friday, January 30. Wirth said Chevron has worked with its Venezuelan partners to increase production by more than 200 Mb/d since 2022, with output now at about 250 Mb/d.
Wirth said Chevron remains committed to leveraging its deep expertise and long-standing partnerships in Venezuela. As we noted in Watching the (Oil) Flow, Chevron is the only U.S. company currently producing oil in Venezuela.
“There is significant potential in our assets and in the country,” he said. “We’re optimistic the future holds a more competitive and robust pathway to deliver value to Venezuela, the United States and Chevron.”
Wirth said Chevron has been bringing about 50 Mb/d of Venezuelan crude to its refinery in Pascagoula, MS, and that it can take another 100 Mb/d into its system, either at Pascagoula or along the West Coast, where it has coking capacity at its refinery in El Segundo, CA. (For more on how U.S. refiners might benefit from additional volumes of Venezuelan crude, see When Love Comes to Town.)
"So I think you should expect to see us, assuming it competes against alternatives, to be running more Venezuelan crude in our system over time. In California, it's an interesting situation. We have a very strong downstream position there," he said.
