Tension rises between Trump and ExxonMobil over the future of oil investment in Venezuela
In a new move that reflects the US administration’s toughness on the energy issue, President Donald Trump has hinted that ExxonMobil could be prevented from returning to investment in Venezuela, against the backdrop of statements by its CEO Darren Woods in which he considered that the country, despite its oil wealth, is still unfit for investment under the existing legal framework.
The contours of the dispute began to become clear after a meeting held at the White House last Friday, which brought together Trump with about 18 top executives of international oil companies.
During the meeting, the US president called on companies to inject investments of up to $100 billion in order to revive the Venezuelan oil sector, after the US military operation that toppled President Nicolas Maduro.
However, Woods has been conservative, stressing that any return of ExxonMobil would require fundamental legal reforms, including amending hydrocarbon laws and providing long-term legal and commercial safeguards.
He recalled that the company’s assets were confiscated twice in Venezuela, stressing that a third entry cannot be done without deep and radical changes.
Trump made no secret of his displeasure with the proposal, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that Exxon’s position didn’t appeal to him, hinting that it could be excluded from any oil activity in Venezuela.
“I would be inclined to keep them out… They are acting with exaggerated cunning,” he said.
The US president stressed that the decision to allow companies to operate in Venezuela will be in the hands of the US administration only, adding in a firm tone: “You’re dealing with us directly, not with Venezuela… We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela at all”.
The confrontation brings to the fore a long-standing case of foreign asset confiscation under the late President Hugo Chavez, with ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips seeking more than $13 billion in damages for assets nationalized in Venezuela.
ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance called for a comprehensive restructuring of Venezuela’s energy sector and debt, but Trump responded sternly, asserting that the United States would start from scratch, adding, “We won’t look at what people have lost in the past, because it was the result of their mistakes”.
In a move aimed at securing finances for the transition period, Trump on Saturday signed an executive order barring courts and creditors from seizing any revenue from the sale of Venezuelan oil deposited in US Treasury Department accounts.
The move comes in an effort to spare oil revenues from legal claims or past debt that could hamper plans to restructure the sector.
This escalation reflects the extent of the political and economic complexities surrounding the future of Venezuelan oil, amid the conflict of interests between the US administration and major energy companies, in an issue that is likely to be more tense in the coming phase.
