Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX) is holding talks with the Trump administration amid calls by top Republican officials for the company to exit the country. According to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other foreign-policy hawks, Chevron has been providing a financial lifeline for Maduro’s regime to enrich itself and suppress civil rights. Venezuela produced about 20% of Venezuela’s oil in 2024, close to Maduro’s goal of 1 million barrels per day. Chevron is the only major oil producer with a waiver to operate in Venezuela despite Washington’s sanctions against President Nicolás Maduro’s regime.

“We are in contact with the current administration,” Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth said in an interview Wednesday on Bloomberg Television. “We work closely with the government to understand their objectives, to understand their limitations.”

Last month, Chevron reported that it’s well positioned to grow free cash flow by $6 billion to $8 billion by next year, and lower expenses by “a couple billion dollars.” America’s second largest oil and gas company expects to achieve these results thanks to the start of new or expanded oil production projects in Kazakhstan, growth in U.S. shale and offshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Chevron has projected oil production growth in the Gulf of Mexico to clock in at 300,000 barrels per day by 2026, up from 200,000 last year. Back in August, Chevron produced itsfirst oil from a pioneering U.S. Gulf of Mexico deepwater field under extreme pressures. The field is expected to produce up to 75,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak, with the company lining up two more offshore projects.

Meanwhile, Chevron is looking to close the gap between it and Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM) through the acquisition of Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES). Hess CEO John Hess says he’s “very confident” that the company’s planned $53 billion sale to Chevron will be completed.

“We’re very confident that the merger is going to go through and we’re getting prepared for that,” Hess said at the Goldman Sachs Global Energy, Clean Technologies & Utilities Conference.

By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com

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