To increase the amount of oil products available for consumers, the Biden Administration is lifting a sanction against Venezuela to export some of its oil to the United States through Chevron, the only US company capable of conducting oil exploration in Venezuela, the Washington Post reports.
A joint operation between American interests and the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, Chevron had been barred from operating in Venezuela, instead operating in other counties and avoiding the large oil reserves under Venezuela. The new policy allows Chevron to harvest Venezuelan oil reserves but only if those products are sent to the United States and if proceeds from sales do not go back to the Venezuelan government-owned partner.
The move is also seen as a reward for the administration of autocratic Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose government is sitting down with opposition leaders in Mexico City to address various conditions in the country that have led to a humanitarian crisis in the country. During the negotiations, the two sides agreed to a UN executor to handle of hundreds of millions of dollars frozen by foreign governments due to Maduro’s corruption, allowing the money to be used for humanitarian efforts.