Trump urges $100 billion oil investment in Venezuela; executives express reluctance

President Trump met with oil and gas executives at the White House on Friday to press the biggest U.S. and European oil companies to invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela, but many of the executives signalled reluctance to commit. Smaller businesses and some traders or refiners have been eager for more Venezuelan oil to flow to the United States, the meeting underscored, but major companies including Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips have privately expressed reservations about investing there.

Two people close to the companies who attended the meeting cautioned that they were not aware of any $100 billion commitment, and the White House did not respond to questions seeking clarification. Exxon’s chief executive, Darren Woods, said, “Today it’s uninvestable,” noting the company’s assets have been seized twice and that a return would require legal changes and “durable investment protections,” though he said Exxon could send an exploratory team if security guarantees were provided.

Chevron’s vice chairman, Mark Nelson, told the meeting the company expected to be able to increase its Venezuelan production by about 50 percent over the next two years, and Harold Hamm spoke cautiously about the prospect.

Key Topics

Business, Donald Trump, Venezuela, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Conocophillips