 "Trump pushes back, but US oil major ExxonMobil keeps Venezuela option open")
ExxonMobil has signalled that it remains open to re-entering Venezuela’s oil sector and is prepared to send a technical assessment team to the country within weeks, despite a public rebuke from US President Donald Trump, who said he is “inclined” to keep the company out.
According to sources familiar with the company’s strategy, Exxon executives were taken aback by Trump’s remarks, which came just days after Exxon chief executive Darren Woods met the president alongside other top oil executives at the White House.
At that meeting, Woods had cautioned that Venezuela was currently “uninvestable” without legal reforms, stronger protection for foreign investments, and greater contract sanctity. Trump later told reporters aboard Air Force One that he “didn’t like Exxon’s response,” saying the company was “playing too cute” on the issue.
Despite the public warning, Exxon remains interested in evaluating Venezuela’s vast but degraded oil infrastructure and assets. Woods had told Trump that Exxon could dispatch a technical team within weeks to assess facilities and production potential, signalling that the company is keeping its long-term options open.
The renewed interest in Venezuela comes after US forces captured and removed former President Nicolás Maduro in a dramatic overnight operation, prompting the Trump administration to push aggressively for American oil majors to invest up to $100 billion to rebuild the country’s oil industry.
Chevron is currently the only major US operator in Venezuela. Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips were forced out in the mid-2000s after the late President Hugo Chávez nationalised the industry. Both companies are still owed more than $13 billion collectively following international arbitration rulings over expropriated assets.
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View AllIndustry experts say those unresolved debts, combined with Venezuela’s history of asset seizures, policy volatility, and security concerns, remain major hurdles for Exxon and ConocoPhillips, regardless of the political reset in Caracas.
American Petroleum Institute President Mike Sommers said companies would require stronger workforce security, clear legal frameworks and firm contract guarantees before committing major capital. He added that while Venezuela’s resource base is “huge” and offers “very significant” investment potential, legacy disputes will be a “significant hurdle” for returning firms.
Trump has sought to reassure oil executives, promising “total safety” for companies willing to invest. His administration has also issued an executive order aimed at protecting Venezuelan oil revenues from judicial seizures, arguing that such actions could undermine US efforts to stabilise the country.
The White House has framed its Venezuela strategy in overtly economic terms. Trump has spoken of seizing tankers, taking control of Venezuelan oil sales, and overseeing global crude marketing signalling that Washington intends to play a central role in reshaping the country’s oil economy.
For Exxon, however, the message is cautious but clear: it is not rushing back, but it is not closing the door either, even as political uncertainty continues to cloud the path to one of the world’s largest oil reserves.
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