President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is “inclined” to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after the oil company’s chief executive declared the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting with energy executives on Friday. Trump made the remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One as he departed West Palm Beach, Florida.
The rebuke targets ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company, at a moment when the Trump administration has named investment in Venezuela’s oil sector a top priority following the detention of former President Nicolás Maduro. The exchange exposes a rift between the White House’s ambitions to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure and the skepticism of private-sector executives who cite the country’s history of asset seizures, ongoing sanctions, and decades of political uncertainty.
“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump said. “They’re playing too cute.”
Darren Woods, chief executive of ExxonMobil, had expressed deep reservations at the Friday meeting. “If we look at the commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, today it’s uninvestable,” Woods said.
During the Friday gathering, Trump tried to win over the assembled executives, telling them they would be dealing directly with the U.S. government rather than the Venezuelan government. Some executives were not convinced, according to the Associated Press.
Executive order and oil seizures
Also on Friday, Trump signed an executive order aimed at shielding Venezuelan oil revenue from use in judicial proceedings. The order, made public on Saturday, states that seizure of such funds for that purpose could “undermine critical U.S. efforts to ensure economic and political stability in Venezuela.”
The administration has moved aggressively on the Venezuelan oil front beyond the executive order. Trump has seized tankers carrying Venezuelan oil and said the U.S. is taking over sales of 30 million to 50 million barrels of previously sanctioned Venezuelan crude. Trump has said he plans to control such sales worldwide indefinitely.
Background
The administration’s efforts to recruit U.S. energy companies to invest in Venezuela come after the detention of former President Maduro and reflect the White House’s framing of its role in the country primarily in economic terms. Venezuela holds some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves but has seen decades of economic mismanagement, a history of state asset seizures, and ongoing U.S. sanctions that have complicated any commercial engagement.
ExxonMobil did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press on Sunday.