US President Donald Trump used a live-streamed cabinet meeting with nearly two dozen oil and gas executives to reiterate his plans to facilitate a US-led revitalization of Venezuela’s oil patch. But the leaders of Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips heavily qualified their readiness to commit fresh capital, as others expressed a stronger willingness to step forward.
“We're going to be making the decision as to which oil companies … we're going to allow to go in,” Trump said late Friday. “We're going to cut a deal with the companies … we're empowered to make that deal. You’re dealing with us directly. You’re not dealing with Venezuela at all.”
Trump did not specify what exactly was on offer to the mix of majors, private and publicly traded E&Ps, oil-field services providers, midstream firms and refiners in attendance, or how such deals would work in practice.
Sweeping US sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector mean Washington would have to issue waivers — either company-specific or more broadly — to US firms or those with ties to the US financial sector if they are to do business with Venezuela’s government and state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).
But it remains to be seen how the interim Chavista regime of Delcy Rodriguez will respond to the proposed degree of US intervention in Venezuela’s prized — and economically crucial — oil patch. Companies looking to operate in the country also face significant outstanding questions regarding everything from the future governance of Venezuela to the fiscal and regulatory terms on offer to the country’s security situation.
Trump at several points cited newly established “security guarantees” for US companies — viewed as a critical must-have in the eyes of larger producers and services firms — but did not provide details as to what those would look like in practice.
Spectrum of Commitment
As for the companies themselves, varied levels of commitment were on display at the lengthy public meeting. Here, Energy Intelligence takes stock of sentiment levels across the participating firms.
Chevron: The major is the only US firm currently operating in Venezuela under a US Treasury license and is expected to lead the charge among larger firms regarding new investment, given its existing comfort levels navigating the country's tenuous aboveground operating environment. Chevron Vice Chairman Mark Nelson noted that the firm has already taken production from its four joint ventures with PDVSA from about 40,000 barrels per day to 240,000 b/d over the past several years, and has a “path forward … essentially effective immediately” to increase output by another 50% over the next 18 months.
Exxon Mobil: Much to the chagrin of an onlooking Trump, Exxon CEO Darren Woods was steadfast in his lengthy comments about his firm’s clear interest in evaluating opportunities in Venezuela, but with a host of conditions that would need to be met before an evaluation-sized team could turn into project-level capital spending.
“We've had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine, to reenter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we've historically seen,” Woods said. “If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it's uninvestable."
The Exxon boss did say he is “confident” that the administration, “working hand in hand with the Venezuelan government,” can achieve necessary changes, but they would be needed across several fronts — including adjustments to Venezuela’s hydrocarbon law. Such changes could be years in the making.
ConocoPhillips: CEO Ryan Lance acknowledged his firm’s unique situation of being the “largest non-sovereign credit holder in Venezuela today,” due to the billions of dollars owed to the US independent stemming from the expropriation of its assets in the country in 2007.
Trump followed Lance’s brief introductory comments with a direct blow to any plans the company may have had to recoup those funds as part of the US-led management of Venezuela’s oil patch.
“We're going to start with an even plate … We're not going to look at what people lost in the past,” Trump said, adding that the $12 billion ConocoPhillips left behind in the country would make a “good write-off.” Lance noted that the write-off had already taken place.
Traders: Oil traders Vitol and Trafigura are already on the move, assisting with the transfer of Venezuelan crude to the US and stand to play a significant role in the future marketing of Venezuelan crude as the US looks to reduce “shadow fleet" trade.
Trafigura CEO Richard Holton noted that his firm’s “first vessel should load in the next week.” Reuters reported Thursday that Vitol had received a preliminary license to negotiate the transfer of Venezuelan oil.
Refiners: Lane Riggs, CEO of US refiner Valero Energy, was effusive in his enthusiasm for the notion of additional Venezuelan crude coming to the US. “We’re more than happy, as this opportunity expands for us to further invest in our refineries” to run more Venezuelan crude, he said. Valero was the largest US taker of Venezuelan crude in 2025, according to tanker-tracking data from Kpler.
Riggs’ counterpart at Marathon Petroleum, Maryann Mannen, offered more tempered support, noting that her firm’s existing kit had the ability to process Venezuelan crude and “stand[s] ready to go,” without elaborating.
European IOCs: Spain's Repsol and Italy’s Eni are legacy investors in Venezuela’s upstream sector, with their joint Cardon IV natural gas development providing the fuel that feeds around half of the country’s power generation. Executives from both firms reinforced the crucial domestic role this gas plays and their commitment to its production, while avoiding touching on the fact that they have not been able to sell crude for reimbursement since the Trump administration revoked their licenses to do so in March 2025.
However, company representatives also spoke of their keen interest in returning to oil operations in Venezuela as well.
“We are ready to invest more in Venezuela today,” said Repsol CEO Josu Jon Imaz, adding that his firm is “ready” to multiply production from the heavy oil joint venture it is in with PDVSA from around 45,000 b/d of oil (gross) currently by two to three times “in the coming two to three years … if you allow us, of course, and in the … commercial and legal framework that could allow this growth.”
Eni’s Claudio Descalzi, meanwhile, noted that his firm still owns “about 4 billion barrels of reserves in the Orinoco Belt” despite writing off its oil assets by 2024 in the wake of US sanctions, and is “ready to join with American companies in our assets to go faster with good investors and know-how.”
UK major Shell has not been active in Venezuela’s oil sector since its assets were nationalized in the 1970s. But CEO Wael Sawan noted that the firm has “kept boots on the ground in Venezuela all this time, and we now have a few billion dollars’ worth of opportunities to invest in," subject to the approval of the US Treasury and “in support of the Venezuelan people.”
Oil-Field Services: The Trump administration has been giving increased attention to the role oil-field services companies will play in any Venezuelan oil rebuild, likely with the guidance of US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the former CEO of services provider Liberty Energy.
SLB CEO Olivier Le Peuch noted that his firm remains active in Venezuela due to its support work for Chevron, offering it a significant advantage.
“We're here. We have knowledge of the subsurface like nobody else has. We have boots on the ground. Capacity on the ground — $700 million of equipment value on the ground in Venezuela — ready to mobilize for all of our partners [and] customers who are ready to scale fast,” he said.
Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller said his firm is “very much interested in returning,” having left the country in 2019 when US sanctions first took effect. He noted that his firm still employs 600 Venezuelans across its global operations and “look[s] forward to putting them back to work” in their home country.
Private E&Ps: Industry veterans, including those with significant experience operating in Venezuela’s oil patch, told Energy Intelligence this week that smaller operators were key to watch, as they may be more inclined to move swiftly into Venezuela, while larger firms take a more conservative approach until everything from security to fiscal and legal arrangements is more fully sorted.
That view was on display at the meeting, where private E&Ps were the largest represented group of any sector. Greg Lalicker, CEO of Hilcorp, the US’ largest private E&P, said his firm is “fully committed and ready to go to rebuilding the infrastructure in Venezuela,” affirming Trump with a “yes” that it will be entering.
Several private firms are not strangers to tenuous security situations: Explorationist Aspect Holdings entered Kurdistan during the early days of its opening and has continued to reinvest in the semiautonomous region of Iraq; Ross Perot Jr.’s HKN has also operated in Kurdistan for nearly two decades and recently entered Libya, and is currently “looking at” Syria as well.
Armstrong Oil and Gas already owns 8 million acres “adjacent to Venezuela” in Aruba and Curacao, according to CEO Bill Armstrong. “We are ready to go to Venezuela,” he told Trump.
Two shale-focused private operators — Continental Resources and Formentera — also spoke positively of the potential opportunities in Venezuela.
“There's a lot of shale there — upside,” said Formentera Managing Partner Bryan Sheffield, a veteran of the US Permian Basin.