WASHINGTON/HOUSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) – The administration of President Donald Trump is planning to meet with executives from U.S. oil companies later this week to discuss boosting Venezuelan oil production after U.S. forces ousted its leader Nicolas Maduro, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The meetings are crucial to the administration’s hopes of getting top U.S. oil companies back into the South American nation after its government, nearly two decades ago, took control of U.S.-led energy operations there.
The three biggest U.S. oil companies – Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron – have not yet had any conversations with the administration about Maduro’s ouster, according to four oil industry executives familiar with the matter, contradicting Trump’s statements over the weekend that he had already held meetings with “all” the U.S. oil companies, both before and since Maduro was seized.
“Nobody in those three companies has had conversations with the White House about operating in Venezuela, pre-removal or post-removal to this point,” one of the sources said on Monday.
The upcoming meetings will be crucial to the administration’s hopes to boost crude oil production and exports from Venezuela, a former OPEC nation which sits atop the world’s largest reserves and whose barrels can be refined by specially designed U.S. refineries. Achieving that goal will require years of work and billions of dollars of investment, analysts say.
It is unclear what executives will be attending the upcoming meetings, and whether oil companies will be attending individually or collectively.
The White House did not comment on the meetings but said it believed the U.S. oil industry was ready to move into Venezuela.
“All of our oil companies are ready and willing to make big investments in Venezuela that will rebuild their oil infrastructure, which was destroyed by the illegitimate Maduro regime,” said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers.
Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump told NBC News the U.S. may subsidize oil companies to enable them to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure.
Asked if the administration had briefed any oil companies ahead of the military operation, Trump said, “No. But we’ve been talking to the concept of, ‘what if we did it?'”
“The oil companies were absolutely aware that we were thinking about doing something,” Trump told NBC News. “But we didn’t tell them we were going to do it.”
He told NBC News it was “too soon” to say whether he had personally spoken to top executives at the three companies.
“I speak to everybody,” he said.
CBS News, citing an unnamed source, said executives from the three were expected to meet on Thursday with Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
One oil industry executive told Reuters the companies would be reluctant to talk about potential Venezuela operations in group settings with the White House, citing antitrust concerns that limit collective discussions among competitors about investment plans, timing and production levels.
BIG PLANS, BIG PROBLEMS
U.S. forces on Saturday conducted a lightning raid on Venezuela’s capital, arresting Maduro in the dead of night and sending him to the United States to face narcoterrorism charges.
Trump said hours after Maduro’s capture he expects the biggest U.S. oil companies to spend billions of dollars boosting Venezuela’s oil production, after it dropped to around a third of its peak over the past two decades due to underinvestment and sanctions.
But those plans will be hindered by lack of infrastructure, along with deep uncertainty over the country’s political future, legal framework and long-term U.S. policy, according to industry analysts.
Chevron is the only American major currently operating in Venezuela’s oil fields.
Exxon and ConocoPhillips, meanwhile, had storied histories in the country before their projects were nationalized by former President Hugo Chavez.
“I don’t think you’re going to see any company other than Chevron, who’s already there, you know, commit to developing this resource,” said one oil industry executive, who asked not to be named discussing the issue.
Conoco has been seeking billions of dollars in restitution for the takeover of three oil projects in Venezuela under Chavez. Exxon was involved in lengthy arbitration cases against Venezuela after it exited the country in 2007.
Chevron, which exports around 150,000 barrels per day of crude from Venezuela to the U.S. Gulf Coast, meanwhile, has had to carefully maneuver with the Trump administration in an effort to maintain its presence in the country in recent years.
Investors were optimistic, betting Washington’s move against Venezuela’s leadership would allow U.S. firms access to the oil reserves. A U.S. embargo on Venezuelan oil remained in full effect, Trump said.
The S&P 500 energy index rose to its highest since March 2025, with heavyweights Exxon Mobil rising 2.2% and Chevron jumping 5.1%.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Sheila Dang; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Anna Driver and Chris Reese)
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