By Ginika Igboke
ExxonMobil is exploring a possible return to Venezuela nearly two decades after its assets were seized and nationalized, according to CEO Darren Woods, who spoke on Jan. 9.
Woods said the company’s immediate priority would be sending a technical team to evaluate the condition of Venezuela’s oil industry and infrastructure before any investment decision is made.
“It’s absolutely critical in the short term that we get a technical team in place to assess the current state of the industry and the assets, understand what will be involved to help the people of Venezuela get production back on the market,” Woods said.
Speaking during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Woods emphasized that Venezuela remains uninvestable under current conditions and would require strong security and legal guarantees before ExxonMobil could consider reentering.
“We’ve had our assets seized there twice,” Woods said. “To reenter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen and from what currently exists.”
While ExxonMobil proceeds cautiously, Chevron—the only major U.S. oil company that maintained a presence in Venezuela after the nationalizations—plans to rapidly expand production.
“We are also able to increase our production within our own disciplined investment schemes by about 50 percent just in the next 18 to 24 months,” said Chevron Vice Chairman Mark Nelson.
President Trump met with executives from 17 major energy companies to outline a sweeping investment push following the recent removal of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The administration aims to revive Venezuela’s severely degraded oil sector and bring production back to global markets.
Trump said U.S. companies could invest at least $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, a move he said would increase global supply and help lower fuel prices for American consumers.
“The American people, energy companies, and the Venezuelan people will all greatly benefit from these new, unprecedented investments in Venezuela’s oil infrastructure,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.
Chevron has continued joint ventures with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, PDVSA, operating under sanctions waivers granted by both the Trump and Biden administrations. Its expertise in heavy crude—Venezuela’s dominant oil type—positions it to scale output from current levels of roughly 700,000 barrels per day. Chevron shares rose 6 percent following Maduro’s capture.
ExxonMobil exited Venezuela in 2007 without compensation and still has unresolved claims worth billions of dollars. Despite this, the company is assessing reentry options due to the country’s vast resource potential.
“The tension is between the compelling geological resource and the obvious business opportunity, and the considerable above-ground risk, uncertainty, and unpaid claims,” said Geoffrey Pyatt, a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for energy resources.
ExxonMobil shares climbed 3 percent after news of Maduro’s capture. Venezuela holds an estimated 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the largest in the world.
Investors remain cautious. “They will want to see long-lasting stability and favorable fiscal terms to protect against the risk of asset nationalization,” said David Byrns, a portfolio manager at American Century Investments.
Concerns about Venezuela’s deteriorated infrastructure persist. Matthew Sallee, head of investments at Tortoise Capital, said heavy spending commitments could deter investors.
“If Chevron says we’re going to dedicate multibillion dollars a year to Venezuela, we would probably sell,” he said.
The White House meeting included executives from Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Spain’s Repsol, and trading firms Vitol and Trafigura.
The administration’s proposed three-phase strategy—stabilization, recovery with U.S. company access, and long-term transition—would place oil revenue management under sustained oversight intended to benefit both Venezuela and the United States. Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, has signaled openness to international energy partnerships, though questions remain about how the transition would be governed.
Rebuilding Venezuela’s oil sector could require between $180 billion and $200 billion in capital, with returns unlikely for several years, according to a Jan. 5 Morningstar report. Previous expropriations left U.S. companies owed roughly $60 billion, including $8.5 billion to ConocoPhillips, upheld by courts in 2025.
Trump has said oil operations could resume in less than 18 months, largely employing Venezuelan workers under U.S. security guarantees. Vice President JD Vance has added that any oil sales must align with U.S. national interests.
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