The Venezuela Pitch: Big Money, Big Promises
President Donald Trump gathered executives from Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), ConocoPhillips (COP), and other major energy firms at the White House on Friday with a straightforward proposition: pour $100 billion into Venezuela's collapsed oil sector and help rebuild it from scratch.
The pitch came with a notable sweetener. Trump told the assembled oil chiefs that their investments wouldn't be subject to Venezuela's notoriously unpredictable legal system. Instead, the U.S. government would provide protection.
"You have total safety … you're dealing with us directly and not dealing with Venezuela at all," Trump said during the meeting.
He painted an ambitious picture of what could come next. "American companies will have the opportunity to rebuild Venezuela's rotting energy infrastructure and eventually increase oil production to levels never, ever seen before," Trump declared.
The Industry Response: Enthusiasm Mixed With Reality Checks
Not everyone in the room was ready to break ground immediately. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods threw cold water on the idea, saying Venezuela remains "uninvestable" without substantial legal and commercial reforms first.
Chevron, which is currently the only major U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, struck a more optimistic tone. The company said it could potentially increase production by roughly 50% if conditions improve, though that's still a big "if."
Earlier this week, Senator Elizabeth Warren noted that top oil executives seem to have more insight into Trump's Venezuela strategy than the general public does—a comment that highlights just how closely the administration is working with energy industry leaders on this.