Posted on 01/13/2026 8:39:16 AM PST by Miami Rebel
President Trump told reporters Sunday night that he was “inclined” to deny ExxonMobil any role in rebuilding Venezuela’s moribund oil industry after its CEO told him point-blank Friday that the South American country was “uninvestable” despite the recent capture of President Nicolas Maduro.
“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One as he departed West Palm Beach, Florida. “They’re playing too cute.”
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods made the blunt assessment during a White House meeting of petroleum executives whom Trump was trying to persuade to restart production in Venezuela after more than 25 years of left-wing authoritarian rule.
“If we look at the commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, today it’s uninvestable,” said Woods, who has led the world’s largest oil company since January 2017.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I miss the old days when, for all its flaws, we had at least one party that at least pretended to oppose socialism and state control of private industry.
“Until there is a stable government that is not likely to steal all the invested assets as they did before, I cannot Blame Exxon for turning this down.”
Yeah. Need more stability before XOM will want to go back into Venezuela given the history.
Our own government is also the problem. Who will be president in 2029
Its not hard to imagine Maduro being released and allowed to return to Venezuela should the Dems regain power.
Pls see my #24.
Well, build yourself a Trump Tower down there and show them how it’s done.
The whole “drill, baby, drill” motto is based on the false reckoning that oil companies want to invest their equity in driving down the price of the product they sell. Venezuela is an extreme example of that illogic.
(For what it’s worth, I have something like 40% of my portfolio in energy, and I’ve been a serious investor in the oilpatch for thirty years.)>>> I agree. For VZ oil it’s ignite baby ignite cuz that’s one way the stuff will ever see the light of day. My MAGA portfolio this go round is Gold, Bonds, and Global markets. My dad worked at Atlantic Richfield, and never spoke positively about VZ oil.
“And he thinks he is always right.”
Why do you fault Trump for that (supposedly) attitude when that is your attitude about yourself?
Trump seems too too willing to go along with the remnants of Maduro still in office, and make “a deal” with them, but the history of Venezuela, its oil and foreign oil companies, suggest Trump’s confidence in the status quo in Venezuela is misplaced.>>. Agree. There’s about 200 years of political coups and oil production disruption. I see no real change. The only time it was stable was when they allowed the american companies to build what little infrastructure they now have. You don’t just turn on a spigot to get that sludge out of the ground. One way is to ignite it and let it melt itself out.
Exactly. Once trump is out, any democrat president will release Maduro from prison and reinstall him.
A stable government in Venezuela I presume...
God only knows what Trump may do on any given day and what kind of government we might get next year and in 2028.
If you are Exxon, planning 1 and 3 years out matters.
Exxon wants more.
They are trying to make a better deal for themselves.
Exxon is in places like Nigeria and Kazakhstan and now they want to pretend Venezuela is to unstable? LOL
They must think they have leverage.
That could change but as of now, Venezuela is a losing bet. Not sure they could even make a solid business case for investing in restoring their seized assets if they were returned
That said, Venezuela's oil reserves are astronomical so it's hard to see how any of the majors can afford to be left out but it's a long term proposition with lots of risk and minimal near term dividends
having experienced expropriation there XOM is appropriately cautious- in shareholders’ best interest. the others at meeting also said security guarantees would have to be serious- anyway i read this whole “rift” has been overdrawn. for now the country isn’t stable so no one is doing anything of consequence. leadership questions have to be resolved.
Well, alternatively, there’s always nation-building.
Get your K&R insurance before going down there!
I am in the camp that believes most of Venezuela is very ok with Maduro being gone. If I am generous and opine that 80% of their population feels that way, that leaves 20% hard core dedicated communists who have operated in the jungles and mountains there for decades.
They are very likely to start attacking oil infrastructure as saboteurs, kidnap oil workers at all levels, etc.
If I were Exxon I’d want to see how this plays out.
Nigeria and Kazakhstan might not be tourist destinations, but the fact is that both are stable kleptocracies. No foreign assets have ever been expropriated in either. Oil companies have flourished in both for decades without threat.
As to “leverage”: leverage with whom? Short of Marines being sent to rebuild facilities of the US taxpayer’s nickel, I doubt any serious investment will take place. Exxon was just more outspoken than the others.
Trump isn’t the only one who understands the “art of the deal”, he’s just the most famous.
Agreed.
Makes sense. What about Chevron since they already have a presence there? I own a bit of their stock.
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