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 know this will be taken as a TDS question for those who are inclined to view any such queries as treason, but I must ask “Does Trump really have the authority to “” to deny ExxonMobil any role in rebuilding Venezuela’s moribund oil industry.”?
It is but a mist in the memory of times past.
You do get the picture.
That parade was a sad joke.
Thanks for your insight.
“You don’t think the ExxonMobil guy might be angling for an advantage of some kind?”
I don’t think so, but that’s only my opinion. It could take years for an Exxon to rehab VZs’ oil facilities. The Exxons of the world make long, long term investments, so that in itself is not the problem. I believe they are being completely forthright with their concerns. These mafia-like countries do not give up power or position easily, and in no way could someone say “VZ’s government has been deposed”. The infection could come back, violently, and in a hurry. No, there is susbstantial “infrastruture” of the old gov’t left in place, and these poverty-dominant So American countries have a well-established history of voting in anyone who promises strength and social giveaways.
Guyana
Getting the leverage of World Bank involved in negotiating production sharing was always painful but carried some stability with it.
You are tedious aren’t you? How dare you to make such valid points.
XOM has made more deals with more tin pots than Trump can count.
I doubt a rat administration would uphold a treaty if the commies in Venezuela break it. If I were an oil company I wouldn’t put a dime into the country until communists adorn the lamp posts, and even then I’d wait to see who fills the power vacuum.
Thanks.
I don’t blame the oil company.
We were amongst the first to go back in in 1994. We knew it was precarious and it was worse than we thought. Our only luck in the deal is that we were so far out on the edges we didn’t get much attention.
In a quarterly meeting I was asked why we could not get better pricing and more timely attention from service companies....I said: To get to our job you need to drive your trucks and crews past at least 20 bread and butter PDVSA jobs, load up on a barge at a dock nearly in Trinidad, be moved by barge nearly 60 miles, do the job and get back to your base at Maturin. Meanwhile you have turned down multiple jobs because your equipment is tied up. Typical suits, still didn’t get it.
It is a failing that I must take steps to remedy. Perhaps after a few drinks?
When I was working on a RCCL cruise ship back in 2005, we visited Curacao and I noted lots of oil infrastruture there. Refinieries with flame towers, etc; “Curacao” has always sounded so exotic to me. The reality is, most of these Caribbean islands are dumps.
Too many here fail to understand that these companies are not charities. They are not going to sink money into a place where it costs more to take out a barrel of oil than that same barrel can be sold for. That is one of the drawbacks to cheap oil prices, it makes many wells and certain regions unprofitable. Right now and for the foreseeable future, Venezuela is such a place, no matter how much President Trump wishes otherwise.
It’s a good question. I don’t know the answer. He posted something about him being the Acting President of Venezuela, so I guess that HE thinks he has the authority.
That said, it sounds like he’s threatening to prevent them doing something they don’t really want to do.
Industry experts have lowered that figure considerably. Also, this would be a unique opportunity not to mention significant reserves.
+1
Not only are the American socialist-dominated enclaves ( LA, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, New York City, Philadelphia) experiencing a dearth of private investment, oil companies there are abandoning existing investments. What’s going to happen to the shuttered big refineries across California? Equipment is worthless and can’t be sold. The socialists will steal the real estate for pennies and build Socialist Paradise low-income housing. It’s tantamount to state confiscation of the properties.
I’ll stick with my experts who cite $80, but I’d also point out that the reserve numbers often cited (300 mm bbls.) aren’t very reliable: they are SELF-REPORTED with no independent audits, and they swelled during the brief bubble in 2008 when WTI hit $150 for two minutes.
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