I’ve been in Fortune 500 C-suits, and I can say for sure: even before asking “what legal protections do we have when we send Venezuela $10 billion in investments?”
Their CEO will ask - “If we send 100 petroleum engineers to Venezuela tomorrow, who will guarantee their safety?”
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.