Trump says he might keep Exxon out of Venezuela after CEO called it ‘uninvestable’
By Jarrett Renshaw
Jan 11 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday he may block Exxon Mobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil giant’s CEO described the country as “uninvestable” at a White House meeting last week.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods told Trump in a high-profile meeting with at least 17 other oil executives on Friday that Venezuela needs to change its laws to become an attractive investment opportunity.
Trump had called on the group to spend $100 billion to revive Venezuela’s oil industry at a meeting less than a week after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a brazen night raid and removed him from power.
Woods’ skeptical remarks quickly emerged as the dominant headline, undermining the White House’s hopes of gaining momentum from its relationship with the world’s top oil executives.
“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he returned to Washington on Sunday. “I’ll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I don’t like their reaction. They’re playing it too sweet.”
Exxon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CAUTION SIGNAL AT EXXON, CONOCOPHILLIPS VENEZUELA
Exxon, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, the three largest U.S. oil producers, were the most prominent partners of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA for decades.
The government of late President Hugo Chavez nationalized the industry between 2004 and 2007, and Chevron entered into partnership agreements with PDVSA, while ConocoPhillips and Exxon left the country and filed major arbitration cases shortly thereafter.
Venezuela now collectively owes more than $13 billion to ConocoPhillips and Exxon for expropriations, according to court rulings.
“Our assets have been seized there twice, and so you can imagine going back in a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve seen historically here,” Woods told Trump on Friday.
Woods said Exxon needs permanent investment protections and the nation’s hydrocarbon law also needs to be reformed.
“If we look at the legal and business structures and frameworks that exist in Venezuela today, they are uninvestable,” he said.
ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance told Trump that his company is the largest non-government borrower in Venezuela and called for a restructuring of the debt and the country’s entire energy system, including PDVSA.
Trump said ConocoPhillips would get most of its money back, but the United States would start with a clean slate. “We’re not going to look at what people have lost in the past because it was their fault,” he said.
