On Friday, US President Donald Trump said that the administration will decide which oil companies will be allowed to invest in Venezuela. With this statement, he signaled Washington's pragmatic approach to reopening the country's long-troubled oil sector.
He added that companies interested in operating in Venezuela will be provided with security guarantees to ensure their protection during investment activities in the country.
According to Trump, the United States will process and subsequently sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil. This is the result of a new agreement with Venezuela following the ouster of former President Nicolas Maduro, which the president discussed at Friday's meeting of senior administration officials with executives from some of the world's largest oil companies.
According to ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance, US banks, including the Export-Import Bank, could also be involved in financing investments in the Venezuelan oil sector.
"It is absolutely essential that we put together a technical team to assess the current state of the industry," said Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods. He added that the US oil giant could immediately start work in Venezuela and consider returning to the country.
"We are ready to send a team there," he added, saying that this could begin in a few weeks.
Exxon had a rich history in Venezuela before its assets were expropriated by former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Woods said that the existing legal framework currently prevents investment in Venezuela and that Exxon needs permanent investment protection and changes to the country's laws.
Chevron has also declared its commitment to continue investing in Venezuelan oil. Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods emphasized that the key challenge in Venezuela remains the development of oil resources.
Trafigura expects to load its first ship carrying Venezuelan oil for export to the United States next week, Richard Holtum, CEO of the commodities trading company, announced at the White House.
On Thursday, Reuters reported for the first time, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, that commodity traders Vitol and Trafigura are in talks with the US government about agreements to sell Venezuelan oil worldwide.
Before the meeting, Trump announced that his afternoon meeting with oil company representatives at the White House would not only concern the Venezuelan oil industry, but would focus primarily on the issue of lowering prices for American consumers.
"Today's meeting will be almost exclusively devoted to discussing Venezuelan oil and our long-term relationship with Venezuela, its security and the security of its people. A very important factor in this engagement will be lowering oil prices for the American people," the president wrote in a post on the social network Truth Social.
(reuters, pmi)