(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump began a meeting to discuss Venezuela with executives from some of the world’s largest oil companies at the White House on Friday, saying he wants them to invest $100 billion in the country to vastly expand its production.
The meeting reflects the importance of oil to Trump’s strategy for the OPEC nation after U.S. forces seized the South American country’s leader Nicolas Maduro in a brazen overnight raid on its capital January 3.
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“We’re going to discuss how these great American companies can help rapidly rebuild Venezuela’s dilapidated oil industry and bring millions of barrels of oil production to benefit the United States, the people of Venezuela and the entire world,” Trump said at the opening of the meeting.
“We’re going to be making the decision as to which oil companies are going to go in, that we’re going to allow to go in,” he said. Trump praised a recent agreement with Venezuela’s interim leaders to provide 50 million barrels of crude oil to the United States, where numerous U.S. refineries are specially equipped to refine it, and said he expects deliveries to continue indefinitely.
“One of the things the United States gets out of this will be even lower energy prices,” he said.
Trump administration officials have said they need to control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues indefinitely to ensure the country acts in America’s interests, and also want to see big oil companies rehabilitate Venezuela’s oilfields after decades of decline. Reuters has reported that companies including Chevron, Vitol and Trafigura are competing hard for U.S. licenses to market Venezuela’s existing crude oil, but that oil majors are hesitant to commit to big, longer-term investments in Venezuela due to high costs and political instability.
Chevron Vice Chairman Mark Nelson said at the White House meeting that the company is committed to investments in Venezuela.
Chevron already operates in the country, but rivals Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips departed nearly 20 years ago after their assets were nationalized.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods said the company sees Venezuela as currently “uninvestable” and needs to see significant changes there for it to return.
“We’re confident that with this administration and President Trump, working hand in hand with the Venezuelan government, that those changes can be put in place,” he said.
Several smaller independents and private equity-backed players were also invited to the meeting, including some with links to Colorado, the home state of Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Reporting by Sheila Dang, Nathan Crooks, David French, Jarrett Renshaw, and Shariq Khan; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Nathan Crooks and Nia Williams
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