Chevron cuts 575 jobs in Houston after closing Hess acquisition, filing reveals
According to a Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification dated Jul 18, the US energy major laid off the employees when its takeover of Hess was officially completed.
The reductions will take effect on Sep 26, according to the notice.
The merger was delayed for over a year but even as the green light for it was awaited, Chevron had been making preparations so it could close the deal with Hess quickly, Reuters previously reported.
Information technology workers from Chevron and Hess met regularly to plan the integration, and Hess employees were informed that they could request a severance package following the deal's close.
Converting technology and combining employees from both companies would take a few months, Chevron CEO Mike Wirth had said last week. REUTERS
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Business Times
25-07-2025
- Business Times
US prepares to allow limited oil operations in Venezuela, starting with Chevron, sources say
[HOUSTON] The United States is preparing to grant new authorisations to key partners of Venezuela's state-run PDVSA, starting with Chevron, to allow them to operate with limitations in the sanctioned Opec nation and swap oil, five sources close to the matter said on Thursday. If granted, the authorisations to the US oil major, and possibly also to PDVSA's European partners, would mark a policy shift from a pressure strategy Washington adopted this year on Venezuela's energy industry, under US sanctions since 2019. President Donald Trump's administration might now allow the energy companies to pay oilfield contractors and make necessary imports to secure operational continuity. Some imports could be swapped for Venezuelan oil, as authorised in previous licenses, three of the sources said. A senior State Department official said in a statement they could not speak about any specific licenses to PDVSA's partners, but added the United States would not allow President Nicolas Maduro's government to profit from the sale of oil. A source in touch with US and Venezuelan officials said it was difficult to understand how Maduro's government would not benefit from cargoes Chevron can sell to the US, and later on Thursday Maduro hailed work done to keep Chevron in the country. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up 'There are already working groups so that Chevron can re-incorporate its functions,' Maduro told an interview with Telesur, adding that Chevron's top leadership had already been informed of licenses so it can keep operating in Venezuela. Chevron shares touched US$155.93 on Thursday, their highest level since April 3, according to LSEG data. 'Chevron conducts its business globally in compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the US government, including in Venezuela,' a company spokesperson said. The move to ease some restrictions on Venezuela's oil sector follows a prisoner swap this month in which Maduro released 10 American detainees while accepting the return of more than 200 Venezuelans who had been deported from the US and held in an El Salvador prison. Relations between the two countries have been tense for years, and the Trump administration has publicly supported opposition leaders who say their candidate won last year's election, not Maduro. Trump in February announced the cancellation of a handful of energy licenses in Venezuela, including Chevron's, and gave until late May to wind down all transactions. The move left all operations in oil and gas joint ventures with Chevron and other partners in PDVSA's hands, but the companies were authorized to preserve their stakes and output remained almost unchanged. The US State Department, which in May blocked a move by special presidential envoy Richard Grenell to extend the licenses, is this time imposing conditions on any authorization modifications, so that no cash reaches Maduro's coffers, the three sources said. In the past, US officials have promised no money would reach Maduro from oil proceeds despite licenses. But it did because PDVSA demands tax and royalties to be paid before granting exports permits. Even if parties agree to oil swaps, those arrangements save PDVSA, and ultimately Maduro's government, millions of dollars per year in imports. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is not expected this time to ban the authorisations, but is negotiating their scope, they added. It was not immediately clear if the terms of the license that could be granted to Chevron would be reproduced for other foreign companies in Venezuela, including Italy's Eni and Spain's Repsol, which have been asking the US to allow them to swap fuel supplies for Venezuelan oil. The authorisations might remain private, one of the sources said. The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control and PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Where will the oil go? Following the cancellation of Chevron's license earlier this year, Trump announced the imposition of secondary tariffs on buyers of Venezuelan oil. But the measure, expected to severely hit Venezuela's main crude buyer China, has not been enforced, allowing the South American country to divert to Asia crude grades that were previously sold to US and European refiners through PDVSA's joint-venture partners. The reshuffle, which has maintained Venezuela's oil output and exports close to the levels they were at before the license cancellations, has been criticised by politicians in Washington and was discussed as part of talks for the new authorisations, the sources said. During former US President Joe Biden's administration, targeted licenses to PDVSA's partners allowed Western refiners to regain access to Venezuelan supplies, but they also granted a stable source of cash to Maduro's administration as the companies were required by Venezuela to pay royalties and taxes. REUTERS
Business Times
24-07-2025
- Business Times
Oil pares gains on possible US approval for Chevron to renew Venezuelan operations
[HOUSTON] Oil pared gains on Thursday afternoon following a Reuters report that US President Donald Trump's administration may allow Chevron to resume operations in Venezuela. Brent crude futures were up 26 cents, or 0.38 per cent, to US$68.77 a barrel by 1.14 pm CDT (1814 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 44 cents, or 0.67 per cent, to US$65.69 per barrel. Earlier in the session, WTI had been up more than a dollar and Brent crude came near that level. 'The news about Chevron being able to go back into Venezuela and get oil going again just took the knees out of the market,' said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC. Kilduff said the market does not expect the Trump administration will open up Venezuela to other US oil companies. 'This is a unique one-off,' he said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Oil was stronger on news Russia was planning to cut petrol exports to all but a few allies and nations Mongolia, with which it has supply agreements. 'Russia looking to cut off petrol exports gave the market a boost,' said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. 'The market was looking for a reason to go higher.' Early in the session, futures gained on the previous day's report of a US crude inventory draw and on hopes for a trade deal between the US and the European Union that would lower tariffs. 'The US crude inventory draw and the trade efforts are adding some support to prices,' said Janiv Shah, an analyst at Rystad. On Wednesday, two European diplomats said the EU and the US were moving toward a trade deal that could include a 15 per cent US baseline tariff on EU imports and possible exemptions. This could pave the way for another major trade agreement following the Japan deal. Also on Wednesday, US Energy Information Administration data showed crude inventories fell last week by 3.2 million barrels to 419 million barrels, far exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw. Oil prices were also supported by a suspension of Azeri crude exports from the Turkish port of Ceyhan and a brief halt to loadings at Russia's main Black Sea ports which has since been resolved. BP said organic chlorides were detected in some of the oil tanks in the terminal at Ceyhan, adding that oil loading continued from some of the tanks with chloride levels assessed to be within normal specifications, while export activities via the BTC pipeline also continued. Traders will watch for further news on loadings from Ceyhan and Novorossiysk, which together make up around 2.5 per cent of global oil supply at 2.5 million barrels per day, according to Reuters calculations based on loading data from the region. Russia and Ukraine held peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, discussing further prisoner swaps, though the two sides remain far apart on ceasefire terms and a possible meeting of their leaders. 'Next to watch would be the demand indicators as we are in the peak season and any upside or downside would impact refining margins,' Rystad's Shah added. REUTERS
CNA
24-07-2025
- CNA
Crude finishes with 1% gain on supply concerns and US crude draws
HOUSTON :Oil prices rose 1 per cent on Thursday as U.S. crude draws and expected cuts to Russian gasoline exports overwhelmed news that oil major Chevron will gain U.S. approval to renew production in Venezuela. Brent crude futures settled at $69.18 a barrel, up 67 cents or 0.98 per cent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures finished at $66.03 a barrel, up 78 cents, or 1.20 per cent. Crude fell in early afternoon trade on news that U.S. President Donald Trump's administration was preparing to allow limited oil operations in sanctioned OPEC nation Venezuela. Earlier in the session, WTI had been up more than a dollar and Brent crude came near that level. "The news about Chevron being able to go back into Venezuela and get oil going again just took the knees out of the market," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC. Even so, Kilduff said the market did not expect the Trump administration would open up Venezuela to other U.S. oil companies. "This is a unique one-off," he added. Oil rebounded late in the session on news Russia was planning to cut gasoline exports to all but a few allies and nations like Mongolia, with which it has supply agreements. "Russia looking to cut off gasoline exports gave the market a boost," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. "The market was looking for a reason to go higher." Also lifting futures was the previous day's report of a U.S. crude inventory draw and hopes for a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union that would lower tariffs. U.S. Energy Information Administration data showed crude inventories fell last week by 3.2 million barrels to 419 million barrels, far exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel draw. "The U.S. crude inventory draw and the trade efforts are adding some support to prices," said Janiv Shah, an analyst at Rystad. On Wednesday, two European diplomats said the EU and the U.S. were moving toward a trade deal that could include a 15 per cent U.S. baseline tariff on EU imports and possible exemptions. That could pave the way for another major trade agreement following a deal with Japan.
