Trump administration sets meetings with oil companies on Venezuela: Report

According to unnamed sources, US president Donald Trump’s administration will meet with executives from US oil companies later this week to discuss boosting Venezuela’s oil production in the wake of US forces’ abduction of its leader, Nicolas Maduro, according to Reuters news agency.

The administration’s hopes of regaining control of US oil companies in South America after its government oversaw US-led energy operations there nearly 20 years ago are at stake, according to a Reuters news agency report released on Monday.

Four oil industry executives with whom the three biggest US oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron, claim that they have not spoken to the Trump administration about Maduro’s ouster, which is in contrast to Trump’s claims over the weekend that he had meetings with “all” the US oil companies, both before and since Maduro was kidnapped.

One of the sources reported on Monday that no one from those three companies has ever spoken to the White House about operating in Venezuela, either before or after.

The administration’s plans for the upcoming meetings will depend heavily on their efforts to boost Venezuela’s oil production and exports, which were previously an OPEC member and have the largest reserves in the world, and whose crude oil can be refined by specially designed US refineries. According to analysts, achieving that goal will require years of effort and significant investment.

What executives will be present at the upcoming meetings, and whether they will speak for themselves or as a group.

The White House stated that it believed Venezuelan oil was ready to be a part of the US oil industry, but it did not comment on the meetings.

According to White House spokesman Taylor Rogers, “All of our oil companies are ready and willing to make significant investments in Venezuela to rebuild our oil infrastructure, which was destroyed by the illegitimate Maduro regime.”

Reuters contacted Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips for comment on the request for comment.

According to an executive in the oil industry, companies would not discuss potential Venezuelan operations with the White House in group settings, citing antitrust concerns that prevent competitors from discussing investment plans, production plans, and timing.

low oil prices, political risks

In a late-night raid on Venezuela’s capital, US forces arrested Maduro and returned him to the country to face narcoterrorism charges.

Trump stated that he anticipated the biggest US oil companies to invest billions of dollars to boost Venezuela’s oil production after it fell by about a third of its peak over the past 20 years due to underinvestment and sanctions.

However, according to industry analysts, a lack of infrastructure will prevent those plans, along with a great deal of uncertainty over the country’s political future, legal framework, and long-term US policy.

While the Trump administration has suggested that large US oil companies will invest billions in Venezuela’s infrastructure, we think that political and other risks, in addition to the country’s current relatively low oil prices, could prevent this from occurring soon, writes William Blair’s Neal Dingmann in a note.

He predicted that significant time and millions of dollars will be spent on improving Venezuela’s infrastructure.

And any future investments in Venezuelan infrastructure would be made on a sagging global energy market. Crude oil prices in the US have decreased by 20% from last year. Since June 2024, the benchmark US crude has not touched $80 per barrel and not been above $70 since June.

In the weeks leading up to the US housing crisis in 2008, a barrel of oil cost more than $ 130.

Venezuela’s oil fields are home to Chevron, the only US company with operations there.

Before their projects were nationalized by former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Exxon and ConocoPhillips both had storied histories there.

For the purchase of three oil projects in Venezuela under Chavez, Conoco has been seeking billions of dollars in restitution. After Venezuela left the nation in 2007, Exxon was involved in lengthy arbitration proceedings.

Chevron, which has recently had to work with the Trump administration to maintain its presence in the nation, has had to make some shaky moves toward the company, which exports about 150 000 barrels of crude from Venezuela to the US Gulf Coast each day.

Trump has stated that there is still a US embargo on Venezuelan oil.

Source: Aljazeera