Trump administration sets meetings with oil companies on Venezuela: Report

The medication of United States President Donald Trump is readying to conscionable with executives from US lipid companies aboriginal this week to sermon boosting Venezuelan lipid production aft US forces abducted its leader, Nicolas Maduro, the Reuters quality bureau has reported, citing unnamed sources.

The meetings are important to the administration’s hopes of getting apical US lipid companies backmost into the South American federation aft its government, astir 2 decades ago, took power of US-led vigor operations there, the Reuters quality bureau study said connected Monday.

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The 3 biggest US lipid companies – Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron – person not yet had immoderate conversations with the Trump medication astir Maduro’s ouster, according to 4 lipid manufacture executives acquainted with the matter, contradicting Trump’s statements implicit the play that helium had already held meetings with “all” the US lipid companies, some earlier and since Maduro was abducted.

“Nobody successful those 3 companies has had conversations with the White House astir operating successful Venezuela, pre-removal oregon post-removal, to this point,” 1 of the sources said connected Monday.

The upcoming meetings volition beryllium important to the administration’s hopes to boost crude lipid accumulation and exports from Venezuela, a erstwhile OPEC federation that sits atop the world’s largest reserves, and whose crude lipid tin beryllium refined by specially designed US refineries. Achieving that extremity volition necessitate years of enactment and billions of dollars of investment, analysts say.

It is unclear what executives volition beryllium attending the upcoming meetings, and whether lipid companies volition beryllium attending individually oregon collectively.

The White House did not remark connected the meetings, but said it believed the US lipid manufacture was acceptable to flood into Venezuela.

“All of our lipid companies are acceptable and consenting to marque large investments successful Venezuela that volition rebuild their lipid infrastructure, which was destroyed by the illegitimate Maduro regime,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers.

Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips did not instantly respond to requests for remark from Reuters.

One lipid manufacture enforcement told Reuters the companies would beryllium reluctant to speech astir imaginable Venezuela operations successful radical settings with the White House, citing antitrust concerns that bounds corporate discussions among competitors astir concern plans, timing and accumulation levels.

Political risks, debased lipid prices

US forces connected Saturday conducted a raid connected Venezuela’s capital, arresting Maduro successful the dormant of nighttime and sending him backmost to the US to look narcoterrorism charges.

Hours aft Maduro’s abduction, Trump said helium expects the biggest US lipid companies to walk billions of dollars boosting Venezuela’s lipid production, aft it dropped to astir a 3rd of its highest implicit the past 2 decades owed to underinvestment and sanctions.

But those plans volition beryllium hindered by a deficiency of infrastructure, on with heavy uncertainty implicit the country’s governmental future, ineligible model and semipermanent US policy, according to manufacture analysts.

“While the Trump medication has suggested ample US lipid companies volition spell into Venezuela and walk billions to hole infrastructure, we judge governmental and different risks, on with existent comparatively debased lipid prices, could forestall this from happening anytime soon,” wrote Neal Dingmann of William Blair successful a note.

Material alteration to Venezuelan accumulation volition instrumentality a batch of clip and millions of dollars of infrastructure improvement, helium said.

And immoderate concern successful Venezuelan infrastructure close present would instrumentality spot successful a weakened planetary vigor market. Crude prices successful the US are down by 20 percent compared with past year. The terms for a tube of benchmark US crude has not been supra $70 since June, and has not touched $80 per tube since June of 2024.

A tube of lipid outgo much than $130 successful the leadup to the US lodging situation successful 2008.

Chevron is the lone US large presently operating successful Venezuela’s lipid fields.

Exxon and ConocoPhillips, meanwhile, had storied histories successful the state earlier their projects were nationalised astir 2 decades agone by erstwhile Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Conoco has been seeking billions of dollars successful restitution for the takeover of 3 lipid projects successful Venezuela nether Chavez. Exxon was progressive successful lengthy arbitration cases against Venezuela aft it exited the state successful 2007.

Chevron, which exports astir 150,000 barrels per time of crude from Venezuela to the US Gulf Coast, meanwhile, has had to cautiously manoeuvre with the Trump medication successful an effort to support its beingness successful the state successful caller years.

A US embargo connected Venezuelan lipid remained successful afloat effect, Trump has said.

The S&P 500 vigor scale roseate to its highest since March 2025, with heavyweights Exxon Mobil rising by 2.2 percent and Chevron jumping by 5.1 percent.