“If we look at the constructs and the legal and business frameworks in place today in Venezuela, it is impossible to invest,” Woods told Trump. “Significant changes must be made to these commercial frameworks and the legal system. There must be lasting investment protections and there must be a change in the hydrocarbon laws in the country.”
Woods nevertheless expressed confidence in the United States’ ability to make these changes and said he expected Exxon could soon send a technical team on the ground to Venezuela to assess the state of its oil infrastructure.
Harold Hamm, a fracking executive and major Trump ally, expressed more enthusiasm but still made no commitment.
“It excites me as an explorer,” Hamm, whose background centers on oil production in the United States, said of the opportunity to invest in Venezuela. “It’s a very exciting country with many reserves. It has its challenges and the industry knows how to meet them.”
Mark Nelson, vice president of Chevron, the only major U.S. oil company still active in Venezuela, said it was committed to helping Venezuela “build a better future.” He said the company saw “a path forward” to increase production at its existing operations in the near term, but did not commit to a dollar amount. The company currently produces around 240,000 barrels per day there with its partner, Venezuelan state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA.
Most of the roughly two dozen companies expressed lukewarm support, although some indicated they were eager to return to Venezuela.
Wael Sawan, CEO of European energy giant Shell, said the company was excluded from Venezuela’s nationalization program in the 1970s, giving up 1 million barrels per day of oil production. He is now seeking U.S. permits to return, he said.
“We are ready to go and look forward to this investment to support the Venezuelan people,” he said.
Jeffery Hildebrand, CEO of independent oil and gas producer Hilcorp Energy and a top Trump donor, said his company was “fully committed and ready to rebuild infrastructure in Venezuela.”
Trump said during the meeting that companies investing in Venezuela would have “total security” without the U.S. government spending taxpayer dollars or putting troops on the ground. He said Venezuela would provide security for U.S. companies and that they would also provide their own protection.
“They’re tough people. They go to areas where you wouldn’t want to go. They go to areas where if they invited me, I would say, ‘No, thanks. I’ll see you in Palm Beach,'” Trump said of the oil companies.
Before the leaders spoke, Trump insisted that oil executives were lining up to seize the opportunity provided by the administration. “If you don’t want to come in, let me know,” he said. “There are 25 people who are not here today who want to take your place.”
After the public meeting, the companies stayed behind closed doors to talk with administration officials.
The president also dismissed speculation that the administration might offer financial guarantees to support what he acknowledged was a risky investment.
“I hope I don’t have to give a safety net,” he said. “These are the biggest companies in the world sitting around this table – they know the risks. »
Trump also mocked the billions Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips owe for assets seized by the Venezuelan regime decades ago. “Nice radiation,” he joked.
“You’ll get a lot of your money back,” Trump told Ryan Lance, CEO of ConocoPhillips. “But we’re going to start with an even playing field – we’re not going to look at what people lost in the past because it was their fault.”
The White House moved the meeting at the last minute from a closed session in the Cabinet Room to a live televised performance in the East Room. “Everyone wants to be there,” the president wrote of oil executives on social media just before the meeting.
POLITICO reported Thursday that the White House rushed to invite additional companies to the meeting due to skepticism among major oil majors about returning to the country. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged Thursday that “slow-moving big oil companies … are not interested” but said the administration’s “phones are ringing off the hook” with calls from smaller players.
Venezuela – even with strongman Nicolás Maduro in custody in New York – remains under the same socialist government that appropriated the platforms, pipelines and properties of foreign oil companies two decades ago. Questions remain about who would guarantee the safety of corporate workers, especially since Trump has publicly ruled out sending troops.
Evanan Romero, a Houston-based oil consultant involved in the Trump administration’s efforts to bring U.S. oil producers back to Venezuela, said international oil companies will not return to the country under the same laws and government that expropriated their assets decades earlier.
“The main contribution that (interim President) Delcy (Rodríguez) and her government can make is to make a bonfire around these laws and set them on fire in Venezuela’s Bolivar Square,” Romero said. “With this we cannot rebuild the oil industry. »
Zack Colman contributed to this report.
