According to four oil industry executives familiar with the situation, the Trump administration did not initially consult with Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, or Chevron Corp regarding Venezuela before or after U.S. forces captured the country's president Nicolas Maduro.
However, meetings are now scheduled for later this week. On Sunday, President Donald Trump claimed on Air Force One that he had discussed his plans to invest in the nation "before and after" Maduro's capture with every American oil company.
According to one of the individuals, U.S. oil executives are scheduled to meet with the Trump administration this week. "Nobody in those three companies has had conversations with the White House about operating in Venezuela, pre-removal or post-removal to this point," a source told me on Monday.
The early and contradictory reports show that reviving Venezuela's oil industry would probably be a difficult task. The source claimed that although Trump has stated that American oil companies are willing to invest billions of dollars in the nation, only Exxon, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron have the size and capability to manage its intricate oil fields.
According to the three other sources, as of Sunday, the three corporations had not discussed investing in Maduro with the Trump administration and had no previous knowledge of the U.S. attempt to capture him.
Because of the delicate nature of the situation, the sources requested to remain anonymous. A request for comment was not immediately answered by the White House.
Requests for response from Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips were not immediately answered. Currently, Chevron is the only major American company working in Venezuela's oil resources to produce heavy crude utilized by refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Conversely, Exxon and ConocoPhillips had a long history in the nation prior to former President Hugo Chavez nationalizing their projects almost twenty years ago.
Hours after Maduro was apprehended on Saturday, Trump stated that he anticipates the largest U.S. oil firms investing billions of dollars to increase Venezuela's oil output.
However, the CEO stated that these plans will be hampered by a lack of infrastructure, which will take years and significant investment, as well as a great deal of ambiguity over the nation's political future, judicial system, and long-term U.S. policy.
"I don't think you're going to see any company other than Chevron, who's already there, you know, commit to developing this resource," stated a senior executive.
Conoco has been requesting billions of dollars in compensation for Chavez's acquisition of three oil projects in Venezuela.
After leaving Venezuela in 2007, Exxon was embroiled in protracted arbitration battles. In recent years, Chevron, which sells around 150,000 barrels per day of petroleum from Venezuela to the U.S. Gulf Coast, has had to carefully negotiate with the Trump administration to keep its presence in the nation.
