Chevron Draws Retail Chatter As Reports Indicate Likely Extension Of Venezuela Oil License, Retail Chatter Grows

Chevron (CVX) stock garnered retail attention on Thursday after reports said the Trump administration would likely extend the deadline to halt its Venezuela operations for at least another 30 days.

According to a Bloomberg report, citing people familiar with the matter, U.S. officials have already indicated to Chevron that it will get more time to wrap up its operations beyond the April 3 deadline.

The report said Chevron CEO Mike Wirth discussed a possible extension during a meeting on Wednesday with President Donald Trump and other oil executives at the White House. Trump had expressed openness to the idea.

Trump said last month that the decision to revoke the license was made because Venezuela had not met the electoral conditions of the permit.

President Nicholas Maduro began a third term as president in January despite allegations of fraud in last year's election.

One condition of the extension will be that any taxes and royalties would be used to fund migrant deportations rather than the Maduro regime, the report said, citing one of the sources.

Chevron produces about one-fifth of Venezuela’s crude oil output.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits moved to ‘bullish’ (57/100) territory from ‘bearish’(43/100) a day ago, while message volume gained 42% over the previous day.

Chevron's shares have gained 13.8% year-to-date (YTD).

The company had said earlier this year it would lay off between 15% and 20% of its workforce to cut costs.

Earlier this month, Chevron revealed in a regulatory filing that it had built a 5% stake in oil producer Hess between January to March. 

The company is locked in an arbitration battle with rival Exxon over Hess's Guyana assets. 

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