Companies Chevron Corp FollowHOUSTON, April 28 (Reuters) - U.S. oil producer Chevron Corp (CVX.N) could raise its production in Venezuela this year by up to 50%, to 150,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), without significant new investments, Chief Executive Michael Wirth said on Friday.
The second-largest U.S. producer in November became the first U.S. producer to get a license from the U.S. Treasury Department to revive oil output and resume exports from Venezuela after a three-year pause triggered by U.S. sanctions.
The company is producing about 100,000 bpd in Venezuela, and the growth, Wirth said, is limited by terms of its U.S. license, which includes limits to activities it can do.
Chevron is offering input to the U.S. government on the matter, Wirth said, but he refrained from saying whether the company has requested a license extension.
Chevron has been able overcome operational issues to ramp up output and exports, including finding tanker owners willing to work in Venezuela, easing infrastructure bottlenecks and repairing oil upgrading facilities.