Trump administration sets meetings with oil companies over Venezuela

Washington/Houston: 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 flood 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 didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

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 back to the United ‌States to face narcoterrorism charges.

Trump said hours after Maduro's capture that 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 nearly two decades ago 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, asking 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 bpd 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 world's largest oil reserves. A U.S. embargo on Venezuelan oil remained in full effect, U.S. President Donald Trump said. The S&P 500 energy index .SPNY rose to its highest since March 2025, with heavyweights Exxon Mobil XOM.N rising 2.2% and Chevron CVX.N jumping 5.1%.