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Big oil companies initially won’t talk, executives say Trump wants U.S. companies to invest billions of dollars and boost Venezuelan oil production Costs and political uncertainty could hinder progress Talks with Trump administration planned, sources say Trump has said the U.S. could help oil companies rebuild infrastructure
(Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration plans to meet with U.S. oil company executives later this week to discuss increasing Venezuelan oil production after the U.S. military ousts leader Nicolas Maduro, sources said.
The meeting is crucial to the administration’s hopes of returning the top U.S. oil company to the South American country after the government seized control of the U.S.-led energy business in the country nearly two decades ago.
Four oil industry executives familiar with the matter said the three largest U.S. oil companies, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, have not yet discussed removing Maduro from office with the administration, contradicting President Trump’s comments over the weekend that he had already met with “all” U.S. oil companies before and after Maduro’s seizure.
“To date, none of these three companies has had any discussions with the White House about operating their businesses in Venezuela,” one of the people said on Monday.
The upcoming meeting will be crucial to the administration’s hopes of boosting oil production and exports in Venezuela, a former OPEC member with the world’s largest reserves and the ability to refine barrels in specially designed U.S. refineries. Achieving this goal will require years of effort and billions of dollars in investment, analysts say.
It is unclear which executives will attend the upcoming meeting or whether oil companies will attend individually or collectively.
The White House did not comment on the talks, but said it believes the U.S. oil industry is ready to expand into Venezuela.
“All of our oil companies are ready and willing to make significant investments in Venezuela to rebuild the oil infrastructure destroyed by the illegitimate Maduro regime,” White House Press Secretary Taylor Rogers said in a statement.
Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips did not respond to requests for comment.
President Trump told NBC News that the United States may offer subsidies to help oil companies rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure.
Asked whether his administration had briefed oil companies ahead of the military operation, Trump said: “No. But we’ve been talking about the concept of ‘what if we do that?'”
“The oil companies were fully aware that we were thinking of doing something,” Trump told NBC News. “But we didn’t tell them we were going to do that.”
He told NBC News it was “premature” to say whether he had spoken personally with executives at the three companies.
CBS News, citing anonymous sources, said executives from the three companies are scheduled to meet with Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Thursday.
An oil industry executive told Reuters that the companies were reluctant to discuss the potential Venezuela operation with the White House in groups, citing antitrust concerns that would limit collective discussion among competitors about investment plans, timing and production levels.
big plans, big problems
The U.S. military stormed the Venezuelan capital on Saturday, arresting President Maduro in the middle of the night and extraditing him to the United States on narco-terrorism charges.
Hours after Maduro was detained, President Trump said he expected the largest U.S. oil companies to spend billions of dollars to boost Venezuela’s oil production, which has fallen to about a third of its peak over the past two decades due to lack of investment and sanctions.
But industry analysts say such plans will be hampered by a lack of infrastructure as well as deep uncertainty about the country’s political future, legal framework and long-term U.S. policy.
Chevron is the only major US company currently operating in Venezuela’s oil fields.
Meanwhile, Exxon and ConocoPhillips made history in the country before the project was nationalized by former President Hugo Chávez.
“I don’t think any company other than Chevron, which is already there, will commit to developing this resource,” said one oil industry executive, who requested anonymity to discuss the matter.
Conoco is seeking billions of dollars in compensation for acquiring three oil projects in Venezuela under Chavez’s government. Exxon became involved in a long-running arbitration case against Venezuela after the country left the country in 2007.
Meanwhile, Chevron, which exports about 150,000 barrels of oil per day from Venezuela to the U.S. Gulf Coast, has had to coordinate carefully with the Trump administration in recent years to maintain its presence in the country.
Investors were optimistic, predicting that the U.S. government’s move against Venezuela’s leadership would give U.S. companies access to its oil reserves. President Trump said the U.S. embargo on Venezuelan oil remains in full force.
The S&P 500 Energy Index rose to its highest since March 2025, with Exxon Mobil Corp. up 2.2% and Chevron Corp. up 5.1%.
Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Sheila Dunn. Written by Richard Valdmanis. Editing: Chizu Nomiyama, Anna Driver, Chris Reese
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