Isn't it about time Chevron pulled the pin on Maduro's Venezuela?

Big Oil has always had a reputation for propping up crappy little banana republics and tinpot regimes, and well, Chevron is squarely on the hot seat for that one these days.

See, it's literally the only thing left that's keeping Venezuela afloat, through its large investments in that country. If Chevron pulls out, the Maduro regime collapses. Now there's some question as to whether it ought to be following all the other oil majors and pulling out.

Chevron is pretty much the last investor left in Venezuela, and the only source left for hard currency. The country's money has melted down so badly in its one-million-plus inflation that it's down to using a fake cryptocurrency of no credibility whatsoever. But socialists being socialists, they save the best for themselves -- U.S. dollars -- and Chevron pays and deals in U.S. dollars.

The article is a bit hyperbolic. I imagine Chevron has no love for Maduro, and it simply is trying to hang on to its 100-year presence and investment until, something / anything changes in the future.

If they go, they will lose everything, and probably their remaining assets will simply be divided between the Venezuelan Government, and the Chinese, who are the real ones keeping the Maduro regime afloat.

Why is Chevron still propping up the Maduro regime when all the other guys have pulled out and sued the bastards for billions, yet Chevron is not making any money from it, which is a disservice to its shareholders... The Journal rightly notes that the company stands to lose goodwill for keeping its investments in the heinous Marxist regime, because it's otherwise unsustainable without them. I understand that they don't want to crash the economy, which is what the Journal reports they are concerned about, but hasn't this economy already crashed, save for that handy income stream to Maduro? ... And there could easily be punishment for Chevron if they somehow get the upper hand despite Chevron's bankrolling role of the current regime. The opposition of Venezuela has already warned Goldman Sachs...

Chevron has been in Venezuela for close to 100 years, long before the socialist takeover of Hugo Chavez.

Could it be that Chevron is expecting to be there for the people once the current regime does collapse? Where else will the people of Venezuela turn to when the time comes to begin rebuilding their nation? Chevron will have been there as the caretaker of their most valuable resource, waiting for their return to normalcy.

-PJ

Not claiming I know anything about it other than smatterings here and there (though I *do* trade oil & oil stocks a lot) but in terms of running an oil company, these guys think in ten year and twenty year timeframes. It’s just longer than we normal and semi-normal humans can really think about.

hese guys think in ten year and twenty year timeframes. It’s just longer than we normal and semi-normal humans can really think about.

Which in today’s kids is just a second or two longer than a mayfly ...

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