Trump says U.S. may reimburse oil companies if they rebuild Venezuela’s infrastructure
President Donald Trump has said he believes the U.S. oil industry could expand its operations in Venezuela in less than 18 months.
“I think we can do it in less time than that, but it will cost a lot of money,” Trump told NBC News in an interview Monday.
“A lot of money will have to be spent, and the oil companies will spend it, and then they will be reimbursed by us or through revenue,” he said.
Whether the U.S. government ultimately agrees to reimburse Venezuela’s oil industry costs, or decides that future revenues constitute sufficient reimbursement, will likely be a key factor for oil companies as they consider their options.
Trump declined to say how much money he thought it would cost companies to repair and upgrade Venezuela’s aging oil infrastructure.
“Very large amounts of money will be spent” by oil companies, Trump said. “But they will do just fine.”
“And the country will do well,” he added.
Despite Trump’s optimism, oil companies appear skeptical about quickly entering, expanding or investing in Venezuela. The history of state asset seizures, ongoing U.S. sanctions and the latest political instability fuel this caution.
Trump said he believes exploitation of Venezuela’s oil reserves “is going to reduce oil prices.”
Gas prices are already at their lowest level in several years. The average retail price of gasoline Monday was $2.81, according to AAA. This is the lowest since March 2021.
“Having an oil-producing Venezuela is good for the United States because it keeps the price of oil low,” Trump also added.
While lower oil prices could make gasoline cheaper at the pump, it would also likely result in lower revenues for the same big oil companies that Trump is counting on to finance the rebuilding of Venezuela’s oil industry to the tune of billions of dollars in foreign investment.
Asked if the administration briefed any oil companies before Saturday’s military operation to capture deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, Trump said: “No. But we talked about the concept of ‘what if we did?'”
“The oil companies were well aware that we were considering doing something,” Trump said. “But we didn’t tell them we were going to do it.”
Trump told NBC News it was “too early” to say whether he had personally spoken to top executives of the three largest U.S. oil producers, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips.
“I talk to everyone,” he said.
ConocoPhillips declined to comment Monday on Trump’s plans for Venezuela’s oil reserves. Chevron told NBC News it does not comment “on business matters or speculate on future investments.” Exxon did not immediately respond to questions.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to meet with executives from Exxon and ConocoPhillips this week about Venezuela’s oil industry, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Wright will be a key person in the Trump administration’s broader push to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, a White House official said Monday.
The Trump administration has repeatedly asserted that the U.S. oil industry is eager to return to Venezuela, nearly two decades after the country last nationalized billions of dollars of oil company assets.
“They want to go there so badly,” Trump told reporters Sunday evening.
Despite Venezuela’s enormous crude oil reserves, major U.S. oil companies have good reason to pause before committing to expanding their operations in Venezuela.
In the 1970s, the Venezuelan government nationalized the country’s energy assets, including those owned by Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips. Since then, the companies have tried unsuccessfully to recoup billions of dollars.
In 2006 and 2007, the Venezuelan government nationalized even more assets. Then-President Hugo Chávez allowed foreign oil companies to stay, but on less favorable terms, leading to the complete departure of Exxon and Conoco.
Chevron, however, agreed to the terms and remains so to this day, largely thanks to a limited waiver exempting it from U.S. sanctions on Venezuelan oil.
Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods recently expressed caution about re-entry into Venezuela.
“We’ve been expropriated from Venezuela twice,” he told Bloomberg News in November, responding to a question about whether Exxon would be interested in Venezuela’s oil or gas. “We’ll have to see what the economic situation looks like.”
