The U.S. president, Donald Trump, said on Sunday that he is "inclined" to exclude ExxonMobil from plans to reactivate Venezuela's oil sector, after the company's CEO, Darren Woods, expressed doubts about investing in the South American country.
"I didn't like Exxon’s response," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, according to a video released by outlets like the New York Post. "I will probably lean towards leaving Exxon out. I didn't like their response. They are being clever," he added.
The comment came two days after a meeting at the White House with top executives from international oil companies, including Chevron, Shell, Repsol, and ENI, where the President sought support to rebuild Venezuela's energy infrastructure following the capture of Nicolás Maduro.
During that meeting, the CEO of ExxonMobil recalled the company's contentious history with the Chavista regime and stated that, given the current legal and commercial conditions, Venezuela remains a "non-investable" country. "We have a long history in Venezuela. We were expropriated twice. It's understandable that significant changes would be required for us to return," Woods said, according to statements reported in specialized media. That meeting set the tone for the differences between the oil company and the U.S. administration, which is promoting an energy revitalization plan following Maduro's decline.
The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, later stated that Exxon’s opinion is "atypical" and that at least a dozen companies are willing to resume operations in Venezuela under the guarantee scheme promoted by the Trump administration. Among them, he mentioned Chevron, Shell, Repsol, and ENI.
Wright added that the U.S. government has offered oil companies "guarantees of security and stability" for their investments. "Guarantees that they will be safe, that there won't be any problems, and there won't be. They had issues in the past because they didn't have Trump as president; they had stupid people," the president said in response to questions from the press.
According to the agency EFE, Trump also signed an executive order to protect the revenues from the sale of Venezuelan crude oil, which will be managed through the U.S. Treasury. The decree aims to prevent the funds from being claimed by creditors of Venezuela’s foreign debt and states that their misappropriation could "undermine the efforts of the United States to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela."
The decision comes days after the announcement of a $100 billion private investment to revitalize the Venezuelan oil industry and “completely modernize it.” Meanwhile, the president confirmed that the United States will control the sale of between 30 and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil, in coordination with the interim authorities in Caracas, as he mentioned in previous statements.
Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) confirmed last week that it is in negotiations with Washington for the sale of crude oil under arrangements monitored by the U.S. government, which it described as a process of "mutual benefit and transparency."
The Trump administration views the revitalization of the Venezuelan energy sector as a key element in the political transition process that began following Maduro's arrest and Delcy Rodríguez's interim leadership, under the supervision of the United States.
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