BY COMFORT OGBONNA
U.S. President Donald Trump met with executives from some of the world’s largest oil companies at the White House on Friday, outlining an ambitious plan to dramatically expand Venezuela’s oil production and urging American firms to invest as much as $100 billion in the country’s energy sector.
Trump has placed oil at the center of his strategy for Venezuela following the dramatic overnight raid on January 3 in which U.S. forces seized President Nicolas Maduro in the capital, Caracas. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Trump said American companies would play a leading role in rebuilding Venezuela’s aging and deteriorating energy infrastructure, with the goal of boosting production to unprecedented levels.
“American companies will have the opportunity to rebuild Venezuela’s rotting energy infrastructure and eventually increase oil production to levels never, ever seen before,” Trump said, as he sat alongside senior executives from Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron and other major industry players.
The president said his administration would ultimately decide which oil companies are granted access to invest and operate in the country. He also highlighted a deal reached with Venezuela’s interim leadership to supply 50 million barrels of crude oil to the United States, noting that many U.S. refineries are specifically designed to process Venezuelan heavy crude. Trump said he expects those shipments to continue indefinitely and argued that increased access to Venezuelan oil would help push U.S. energy prices even lower.
“One of the things the United States gets out of this will be even lower energy prices,” Trump said.
At the same time, U.S. forces have continued to seize Venezuelan oil tankers at sea as part of an embargo aimed at controlling the country’s oil exports. The fifth such seizure was announced on Friday. Administration officials have said Washington intends to oversee Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues for an extended period to ensure the country aligns with U.S. interests, including efforts to curb corruption and drug trafficking.
That approach has drawn criticism from some Democratic lawmakers, who have described it as coercive, while industry analysts warn that Venezuela remains politically fragile as it navigates the fallout from Maduro’s capture while trying to satisfy U.S. demands.
Major trading houses such as Chevron, Vitol and Trafigura are competing for U.S. licenses to market Venezuela’s existing crude oil, but large oil producers remain cautious about committing to long-term investments. High development costs, legal uncertainty and a long history of political intervention continue to weigh on investor confidence.
Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods told attendees at the meeting that the company currently considers Venezuela “uninvestable,” citing past experience in the country. Exxon’s assets were seized twice during previous nationalizations, Woods said, making any return contingent on major reforms and strong protections.
“We’ve had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes,” Woods said. He added that the company believes those conditions could be created through close cooperation between the Trump administration and Venezuela’s new leadership.
Exxon and ConocoPhillips both exited Venezuela nearly two decades ago after their operations were nationalized. Chevron, by contrast, is the only major U.S. oil company still operating in the country. Chevron Vice Chairman Mark Nelson said the company remains committed to its investments there.
In addition to the major oil firms, several smaller independent producers and private equity-backed companies were invited to the White House talks. Many of those executives praised Trump’s Venezuela policy and said they were prepared to invest and help market the country’s oil if given the opportunity.
Venezuela’s oil industry has been hollowed out by decades of underinvestment, mismanagement and sanctions. Despite holding the world’s largest proven oil reserves and being a member of OPEC, the country currently accounts for only about 1% of global oil supply. Production has fallen sharply from a peak of roughly 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1970s to a fraction of that level today.
Trump said the United States would guarantee both the physical safety and financial security of companies willing to invest in Venezuela, though he did not outline specific mechanisms. Earlier on Friday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said there is a “real possibility” that the U.S. Export-Import Bank could be used to help finance large oil projects in Venezuela, potentially reducing risks for investors.
The president said discussions with oil executives are focused on securing concrete commitments and moving quickly to generate returns.
“We have to get them to invest and then we have to get their money back as quickly as we can,” Trump said. “And then we can divvy it all up between Venezuela, the United States, and them. I think it’s simple. I think the formula is simple.”
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