Chevron CEO Says Venezuela Must Do More for Oil Industry Revival

(Bloomberg) — Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Mike Wirth said changes in Venezuela’s oil policy were a sign of progress in its effort to attract foreign investment, but more action was needed.

“This is moving things in a positive direction,” Wirth said on CBS’ Face the Nation. “There’s still some work needed. It’s probably not enough to provide the desired level of investment. So I think progress is being made.”

Wirth expressed confidence in the Trump administration’s Venezuela policy after the United States overthrew Nicolás Maduro in January and Delcy Rodríguez became the country’s acting president. A few weeks after Maduro’s capture, Venezuela changed its long-standing nationalist oil policy in a bid to attract investors.

A group of U.S. oil executives who met with Rodríguez in Caracas last week pressed for assurances that Venezuela is safe to invest; It’s a sign of growing interest among U.S. oil companies beyond Chevron and other majors as President Donald Trump calls for a revival of production in Venezuela.

“An increase in production there would increase energy reliability and supply in the United States,” Wirth said.

Venezuela’s shrinking oil workforce and the loss of many skilled workers to emigration have made large-scale industrial recovery dependent on whether foreigners return, a point also made by opposition leader María Corina Machado, he said.

Wirth sounded the alarm about Trump’s decision last week to invoke the Defense Production Act to provide federal funding for energy projects as his administration faces pressure to help rein in rising energy costs.

“You can’t start production all at once,” he said. “It requires engineering, it requires supply chains, it requires contracts, and workers need to move and mobilize.”

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