Experts skeptical US oil giants will swiftly rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry

President Donald Trump predicted that US oil companies would invest tens of billions to repair Venezuela’s oil infrastructure and rapidly ramp up production after the rendition of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, but industry experts have expressed skepticism. Trump told NBC News his idea was that dominant US players could get an expanded operation “up and running” across Venezuela in less than 18 months, adding “I think we can do it in less time than that” and “But it’ll be a lot of money.” He also said at a press conference that “our very large United States oil companies” were poised to “go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country.” US firms including ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron have not outlined such plans; a Conoco spokesperson said “It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments.” Analysts say companies will likely move cautiously without an “iron-clad guarantee” from the US government to reimburse rebuilding costs.

Dan Pickering of Pickering Energy Partners suggested it could take about three years to see a production bounce and forecast an increase around half a million barrels per day by “2029, maybe late 2028,” with the first year spent on contracts and security, the second on reconstruction and the third on increasing output.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Venezuela, Exxonmobil, Chevron, Conocophillips