The Biden administration reversed course on Saturday and issued a new license to Chevron, allowing the energy giant to pump oil in communist Venezuela. The move eased sanctions on the authoritarian regime even as human rights violations continue.
As window dressing, the Treasury Department reported that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and a group of opposition leaders agreed on a humanitarian program and to have conversations on holding “free and fair elections.”
On the same day the license was issued, Venezuelan leaders began working with UN officials in Mexico City to initiate a food, healthcare, and infrastructure program in the beleaguered country.
Does even the inept White House believe Maduro will permit strong political opposition to his communist government?
The Treasury Department announced the license is good for six months and automatically renews monthly from there.
The irony of the administration’s “drill baby, drill” approach when it pertains to other nations is not lost on industry experts. Dan Kish of the Institute for Energy Research noted that policymakers are attempting to “drive more and more of the U.S. oil industry offshore, into the arms of other countries.”
Kish added that, due to the oppressive conditions for pumping oil domestically, he does not blame the second-largest U.S. oil company for taking the opportunity.
Isn't Venezuela run by the bad guys? https://t.co/w1KPkdyvB3
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 27, 2022
The White House has made several moves to limit oil production in the U.S. and is fighting opponents of the measures in federal court.
As for the environment, once again the administration is saying one thing and doing another. The light-sweet shale oil produced domestically is much more environmentally-friendly than the heavy Venezuelan crude with its high sulfur content.
And the Wall Street Journal reports that the White House’s permitting Chevron to do business under the communist regime may open the door for other large energy companies to do the same.
Of course, this action follows last month’s decision by OPEC+ to slash oil production by 2 million barrels per day.
The Biden administration’s energy policy is no policy at all. Instead, it is a reactionary and piecemeal approach that substitutes a cohesive and logical plan for domestic production with patching together supplies from whoever is willing to sell to the U.S.
