How have U.S. sanctions and Chevron’s licensing changes since 2022 affected actual shipments of Venezuelan Merey and Hamaca to specific Gulf Coast refineries?
Executive summary
Since Washington loosened petroleum restrictions in late 2022 by issuing a Chevron-specific authorization and later tightened and rewrote that authorization, actual flows of Venezuela’s heavy Merey and Hamaca to U.S. Gulf Coast refineries have been limited, episodic and highly conditional: Chevron has been able to resume limited loadings and deliver some heavy barrels to Gulf Coast plants, but volumes remain a fraction of historical levels and are vulnerable to rapid curbs, seizures and rerouting to Asia or floating storage as U.S. enforcement has intensified [1] [2] [3].
1. How the 2022 license reopened a narrow channel and which refineries could benefit
In November 2022 OFAC issued General License 41 permitting Chevron to resume production and limited export work at its Venezuelan joint ventures, a move that reopened a narrow legal channel for heavy Venezuelan grades destined for Gulf Coast refiners that are configured to run Merey- and Hamaca-like sour heavy crudes; U.S. outlets and analysts pointed to Gulf Coast firms such as Valero and Phillips 66 as potential buyers or beneficiaries seeking to refill supply gaps left by years of sanctions and lower Venezuelan output [1] [4] [3].
2. Actual shipments after the license: limited but tangible loads and crews at sea
Reporting documents concrete instances where tankers loaded Venezuelan heavy crudes after licenses were in place — including media accounts that two tankers loaded Hamaca and Boscan in Venezuelan ports destined for U.S. refineries and government or industry notes that Chevron-chartered vessels under limited licenses reached or were en route to U.S. ports carrying Hamaca, Merey and Boscan blends [5] [6] [4]. Reuters and other outlets have quantified Chevron’s exports to the Gulf Coast in recent reporting at around 150,000 barrels per day, underscoring that Chevron’s sanctioned-but-authorised operations have translated into ongoing, material physical flows to the U.S. Gulf [2] [3].
3. Where sanctions and enforcement trimmed volumes and redirected flows
That resumption has not been stable: OFAC’s licenses have been amended, some revoked or narrowed (including wind‑down orders and restrictions on cash transfers), Washington has imposed fresh sanctions on tankers and trading firms and threatened a blockade and secondary tariffs on countries taking Venezuelan oil — all measures that have reduced Venezuelan exports, led to tanker seizures and pushed much crude away from regular export channels into floating storage or Asia-bound shipments [1] [7] [8] [9]. Energy Intelligence and Reuters reporting document both the catching of Chevron-run tankers moving heavy grades and broader interdiction activity that has knocked down Venezuela’s shipments in certain months to roughly half prior levels [6] [7].
4. Corporate maneuvering and the limits of “allowed” operations
Chevron’s authorizations have been carefully structured: licenses typically bar direct cash payments to the Maduro government and are temporary, meaning the company can operate only within narrow financial and operational guardrails — a design Washington argues strengthens enforcement but which also leaves production and shipments vulnerable to prompt policy shifts and litigation over tariffs and licenses [10] [1]. Industry analysts and reporting warn that any swift change in licensing terms—already seen with amendments and wind‑down orders—can quickly curtail Venezuelan production and close the supply tap to Gulf Coast refineries that depend on heavy sour barrels [11] [2].
5. Net effect on Gulf Coast refinery feedstock and outstanding reporting limits
The practical outcome is that Gulf Coast refiners have seen some heavy Venezuelan barrels return in limited batches, but overall imports remain far below historical highs and are volatile month to month; some shipments were physically delivered while others were diverted, delayed, or stored at sea, and several media accounts and trade trackers document both resumed liftings and parallel redirection to China or floating storage [5] [9]. Available reporting gives firm instances of shipments and volume estimates (e.g., ~150,000 bpd tied to Chevron), but it does not provide a comprehensive, daily manifest-level ledger linking each tanker and cargo to a named Gulf Coast refinery in every instance, so precise refinery-level throughput impacts must be inferred from public loadings, OFAC licenses and trade reports rather than fully reconstructed from open sources [2] [1].