The heads of major oil companies warn Trump: Venezuela is not investable
Senior executives in the US oil sector said, during their meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, that Venezuela needs a long time and radical reforms to attract investments in The oil sector after decades of neglect.
Trump announced on Friday that companies would invest at least $100 billion to rebuild the Venezuelan energy sector with American security guarantees, but the CEOs of major oil companies, such as "ExxonMobil"and"ConocoPhillips" They were not clearly enthusiastic about a quick return to Venezuela.
Uninvestable Market
During the meeting, Darren Woods, CEO of "Exxon"Trump said that the Venezuelan market "Not investable" In its current state.
Woods told Trump: "We’ve had our assets there confiscated twice, so you can imagine that going in for a third time would require radical changes from what we’ve seen historically there. If we look at the legal and commercial frameworks that exist today in Venezuela, we find that they are uninvestable".
Woods added that "Exxon" It is ready to send a technical team to assess the current situation of the oil industry and assets in Venezuela.
Venezuela seized the assets of the two companies in 2007, and Caracas owes them billions of dollars in compensation due from arbitration cases.
For his part, Ryan Lance, CEO of the company, confirmed "ConocoPhillips"stressed the need for the banking sector to contribute to restructuring Venezuela’s debts, and providing billions of dollars to finance the rebuilding of the country’s infrastructure.
Lance also called for the restructuring of the Venezuelan National Oil Company, saying: "As we look to achieve big, bold achievements, we must also think about restructuring the entire Venezuelan energy system, including the national oil company."
No way to return nationalized assets
Trump told attendees that the US government is not seeking to recover assets lost by a company "Conoco" During the nationalization process in 2007. He said: "We will not look at what people lost in the past, because it was their fault. That was under a different president. You’ll make a lot of money, but we won’t go back".
It is considered a company "Chevron" The only major American oil company operating in Venezuela through joint ventures with PDVSA.
Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mark Nelson, stated that "Chevron" A plan to quickly increase its production, which currently stands at about 240,000 barrels per day.
Nelson told Trump: "We have a very close action plan to increase our production from these joint ventures by 100%, almost immediately. We are also able to increase our production within our disciplined investment plans by about 50% in the next 18 to 24 months alone."
Small companies may be the alternative
Against the reservations of major companies about investing in Venezuela, Treasury Secretary Scott Besent indicated that the United States may rely more on Small oil companies, rather than large corporations, to invest in Venezuela.
Bescent said Thursday at the Economic Club of Minnesota: "The slow-moving big oil companies, with huge boards, aren’t interested, but I can assure you that independent oil companies, individuals, oil drillers – our phones never stop ringing. They want to get to Venezuela as quickly as possible."
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