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U.S. oil refiners including Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) and PBF Energy (NYSE:PBF) that were once regular buyers of Venezuelan crude have shown interest in gaining access to cargoes Chevron (NYSE:CVX) expects to charter in the coming weeks under the newly issued U.S. license, Reuters reported late Thursday.
The companies reportedly have begun contacting Chevron (CVX), shipping agencies and vessel owners to check timetables, but Chevron could prioritize its own refineries in Pascagoula, Miss., and El Segundo, Calif., which were regular receivers of Venezuelan oil in the past.
The last charters of Venezuelan heavy crude – popular among U.S. refiners for producing products from motor fuels to asphalt – for transport to the U.S. Gulf Coast were in late 2018, just before the U.S. banned imports from the country.
On Thursday, Chevron (CVX) CEO Michael Wirth said the company likely would not invest more to help raise Venezuela’s production in the next six months, as the sanctions framework will take time to be eased, allowing some Venezuelan oil to flow back to the U.S.
Chevron (CVX) shares have become expensive, “trading at a valuation where it needs high double-digit long-term prices, something that history shows is unlikely,” The Value Portfolio writes in an analysis posted recently on Seeking Alpha.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)