Chevron has been granted a restricted licence by the US to resume limited operations in Venezuela, according to a Reuters report, citing sources.

The licence comes with stringent conditions that prohibit any transfer of oil proceeds to the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

This development comes as the US prepares to issue new authorisations to Venezuela's state-run PDVSA partners, starting with Chevron, to operate within the OPEC nation under certain limitations, including oil swaps.

The private authorisation to Chevron comes just two months after a deadline set by Washington for PDVSA's joint venture (JV) partners to cease transactions including oil exports.

Previously, Chevron and European oil companies such as Repsol and Maurel & Prom had received authorisations under former President Joe Biden's administration, enabling them to expand Venezuelan operations and export oil to the US and Europe.

However, amid concerns over migration and democracy in Venezuela, President Donald Trump announced in February that these licences would be revoked, setting a late May deadline for the completion of transactions.

Consequently, Chevron scaled back its Venezuelan activities, directing its tanker fleet away and handing over operations to PDVSA, although it was allowed to maintain its assets and JV stakes in the country.

Under the new licence, Chevron is now permitted to make decisions regarding its JVs and handle procurement and contract payments.

Nonetheless, it remains uncertain whether PDVSA will allocate Chevron any crude cargoes for the US, given the prohibition on payments to Venezuela, which include mandatory royalties and taxes.

Additionally, Chevron recently completed its $53bn acquisition of Hess following a positive arbitration outcome regarding Hess' offshore assets in Guyana.