US oil giants silent on Trump claim they will spend billions on Venezuelan oil industry

US oil giants have so far remained silent on Donald Trump’s claim that they are primed to spend “billions and billions of dollars” rebuilding the Venezuelan oil industry following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro.

Chevron, the only US oil company still operating in Venezuela, committed only to following “relevant laws and regulations” after the US president suggested American energy multinationals would be central to his plans for the country....

ExxonMobil, the biggest US oil company, did not respond to a request for comment. ConocoPhillips, another major player, said it was monitoring developments, and added: “It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/03/us-oil-trump-venezuela

Why wouldn't they want to commit billions when it's not even clear that the US will send sizeable forces? On top of that, petroleum prices are already quite low because so many new sources have come on line.

7 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Why wouldn't they want to commit billions when it's not even clear that the US will send sizeable forces? On top of that, petroleum prices are already quite low because so many new sources have come on line.

On top of that, the longer they wait with any commitment, the higher the pressure on the trump administration to come up with funding.

It looks like they are no longer silent, but decided to expose the lies from the liar in chief.

Trump administration has not consulted US oil majors about Venezuela, oil execs say

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Trump administration did not consult with oil companies Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, or Chevron Corp about ‌Venezuela before or after U.S. forces captured the South ‌American country’s president Nicolas Maduro Jan. 3, according to four oil industry executives familiar with the matter.

That contradicts President Donald Trump's assertion aboard ⁠Air Force One ‌on Sunday that he had spoken to all of the U.S. oil ‍companies "before and after" Maduro’s capture about his plans for investing in the country.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-not-consulted-us-171311809.html

There was a topic heading: Trump to Deploy US Oil Giants to Rebuild Venezuela

Definitions from Oxford Languages

deploy - verb

move (troops or equipment) into position for military action.

Maybe more accurate heading: Trump would like to Deploy US Oil Giants to Rebuild Venezuela

16 minutes ago, JerryM said:

There was a topic heading: Trump to Deploy US Oil Giants to Rebuild Venezuela

Definitions from Oxford Languages

deploy - verb

move (troops or equipment) into position for military action.

Maybe more accurate heading: Trump would like to Deploy US Oil Giants to Rebuild Venezuela

THey say it's about oil –

BUT

Venezuela actually is producing hardly any oil at all – about 1% of world supply – it has reserves, but getting them out of the ground may not happen for decades – So why would any oil company be interested in investing in a destabilised country with no immediate oil to show? Another aspect is that the world has a sufficient oil supply – maybe even a glut.

There are other resources (rare earths, etc.), but again, they have to be established.

Drugs are a joke – the drug capital is Ecuador. Venezuela is a tiny player in that too.

Are we missing something here – this has a lot in common with US policies, even going back to before WW2?

You don't have to defend Maduro to criticise the US on this – they've gone into a foreign, sovereign country and kidnapped a leader without the permission or even knowledge of Congress... It has exposed huge weaknesses in the US constitution and any checks and balances that were presumed erroneously to be there.

I must say, I'm beginning to think that Trump actually doesn't know what's going on – that in fact he is a puppet of a much more sinister CABAL of businessmen who have realised they can take over the country using Trump as a figurehead – as he is completely out of touch with reality, they can just tell him what they like and he believes them – it's the King's new clothes all over again.

Is there anyone in America who thinks the Venezuela exercise was a good idea or even makes sense?

12 minutes ago, kwilco said:

I must say, I'm beginning to think that Trump actually doesn't know what's going on – that in fact he is a puppet of a much more sinister CABAL of businessmen who have realised they can take over the country using Trump as a figurehead – as he is completely out of touch with reality, they can just tell him what they like and he believes them – it's the King's new clothes all over again.

As posted April 27, 2024 https://aseannow.com/topic/1325922-why-the-hush-money-case-against-donald-trump-is-on-shaky-ground/page/3/#comment-18873251

(JerryMahoney)

To me the possibly more scary part of Trump again elected as President are these folks who see him as an empty vessel for changes to the Federal government they have been working on since Reagan.

14 minutes ago, JerryM said:

As posted April 27, 2024 https://aseannow.com/topic/1325922-why-the-hush-money-case-against-donald-trump-is-on-shaky-ground/page/3/#comment-18873251

(JerryMahoney)

To me the possibly more scary part of Trump again elected as President are these folks who see him as an empty vessel for changes to the Federal government they have been working on since Reagan.

It seems almost impossible to remove Trump on mental health grounds even though it looks as if dementia has set in quite hard – maybe the Danes will kidnap him?

THis was found on a desk in the WH.......https://scontent.flhr10-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/611343073_1316421447195765_2191198237507851454_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=833d8c&_nc_ohc=G_L_nliUWxoQ7kNvwGfA876&_nc_oc=AdnuHA9R2Zu8RRfUpvbY8wB03MLMYZeeNBP2hHM-rHTJW2nc8hpArwDZHfS_m7XGXxsk7aEoZlp1xDL-VawnnGbq&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent.flhr10-1.fna&_nc_gid=DSZqAlgrzJN0dqDo-pRI-Q&oh=00_AfpAkOTJVi3svsO6QazP6eZncZu8ujfR6ZZHQrMAqN9Qfg&oe=696203AA

2 hours ago, kwilco said:

THey say it's about oil –

BUT

Venezuela actually is producing hardly any oil at all – about 1% of world supply – it has reserves, but getting them out of the ground may not happen for decades – So why would any oil company be interested in investing in a destabilised country with no immediate oil to show? Another aspect is that the world has a sufficient oil supply – maybe even a glut.

There are other resources (rare earths, etc.), but again, they have to be established.

Drugs are a joke – the drug capital is Ecuador. Venezuela is a tiny player in that too.

Are we missing something here – this has a lot in common with US policies, even going back to before WW2?

You don't have to defend Maduro to criticise the US on this – they've gone into a foreign, sovereign country and kidnapped a leader without the permission or even knowledge of Congress... It has exposed huge weaknesses in the US constitution and any checks and balances that were presumed erroneously to be there.

I must say, I'm beginning to think that Trump actually doesn't know what's going on – that in fact he is a puppet of a much more sinister CABAL of businessmen who have realised they can take over the country using Trump as a figurehead – as he is completely out of touch with reality, they can just tell him what they like and he believes them – it's the King's new clothes all over again.

Sorry, but I agree with you totally.

Trump just by the looks on his face and the way he acts and what he is doing, looks like a person with dimentia.

Saying that, it's also scary that most world leaders are maniacs.

The question is who's running the show, it's not Donald Trump, it's far worse than that, it's got to be coming from the 1%.

Undoubtedly the world is the worst I have ever seen it, with arms manufacturers making a fortune, genocide being committed and lunatics giving billions to a totally corrupt neo nazi maniac Zelensky to continue a war that is making the rich richer and creating havoc throughout the world, it's made food and petrol, fertiliser and the cost of living so bad in NZ for a example, pensioners can not afford to live.

Accommodation is hard to get, people are living in tiny houses, caravans all over NZ and drugs and crime is going out of control.

Meanwhile the government wants to let millions of migrants into NZ while we can't cope with what we have.

2 minutes ago, kiwikeith said:

Sorry, but I agree with you totally.

Trump just by the looks on his face and the way he acts and what he is doing, looks like a person with dimentia.

Saying that, it's also scary that most world leaders are maniacs.

The question is who's running the show, it's not Donald Trump, it's far worse than that, it's got to be coming from the 1%.

Undoubtedly the world is the worst I have ever seen it, with arms manufacturers making a fortune, genocide being committed and lunatics giving billions to a totally corrupt neo nazi maniac Zelensky to continue a war that is making the rich richer and creating havoc throughout the world, it's made food and petrol, fertiliser and the cost of living so bad in NZ for a example, pensioners can not afford to live.

Accommodation is hard to get, people are living in tiny houses, caravans all over NZ and drugs and crime is going out of control.

Meanwhile the government wants to let millions of migrants into NZ while we can't cope with what we have.

Wow! Zelenskyy is a "neo-Nazi" maniac and Jewish. That's quite an achievement.

Why Venezuelan oil is so attractive to US refiners and Trump's concept of re-industrialisation of the US.

Venezuelan oil is particularly dense and sticky. The high-sulphur crude more closely resembles a semi-solid tar than the far clearer liquids produced in US shale heartlands, making it more difficult to extract and process into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstock for the chemicals industry. But it is exactly what many refineries in the US were built to treat.

“Most of Venezuela’s crude supply is heavy, sour oil, which if you’re a US refiner is one of the most ideal grades of crude you could ask for,” said Janiv Shah, a vice-president at Rystad Energy, a global consultancy.

US refineries support about 3m jobs despite employing only about 80,000 people at their sites. The industry has the highest job “multiplier” of any industry in the US – meaning that for every direct job in the sector more than 45 further roles are supported, according to a study by Oxford Economics. This reflects the industry’s “exceptionally high labor productivity and large economic footprint”, which is often rooted geographically in states loyal to Trump.

Dense, sticky and heavy: why Venezuelan crude oil appeals to US refineries

No worries, American taxpayers are coming to the rescue!

'US may subsidize oil companies to rebuild Venezuela's energy infrastructure, Trump says'

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-may-subsidize-oil-companies-rebuild-venezuelas-energy-infrastructure-trump-2026-01-05/

"The United States may subsidize oil companies to enable them to rebuild Venezuela's energy infrastructure, President Donald Trump said in an interview with NBC News on Monday.

Trump told NBC that such a project could take less than 18 months."

18 months?? You've used the last 10 years trying (and failing) to come up with an alternative to ACA, but you're gonna rebuild Venezuela's energy infrastructure in 18 months?!

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Why Venezuelan oil may not be so attractive:

Returning Venezuela’s crude production to 3m barrels of oil a day would require 16 years of work and investment totalling $185bn (£137bn), according to figures from Rystad Energy, a global consultancy.

At least $30-35bn of international capital would need to be committed in the next two to three years to make this scenario plausible, Rystad said. “This could only be financed by international oil companies, which will consider investments in Venezuela only if they have full confidence in the stability of the country’s systems and its investment climate for international oil and gas players,” it added.

“A rapid recovery in Venezuelan oil production in the short term is highly unlikely,” said Jorge León, the head of geopolitical analysis at Rystad. “Years of chronic underinvestment have severely eroded oil infrastructure, much of the skilled workforce has left the country, and ongoing political instability continues to undermine operational confidence.

“Even under a more constructive political scenario, rebuilding output would require significant time, capital, and institutional stability, making it difficult for international companies to justify new investments in Venezuela at present.”

Dense, sticky and heavy: why Venezuelan crude oil appeals to US refineries

On 1/5/2026 at 12:44 AM, Alan Zweibel said:

“It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments.”

Well of course. We know a lot of folks are impatient and want overnight results, though new frameworks needed for attractive terms, sanctions relief is expected but not fully implemented yet. So you’re just going to have to wait and cool your jets.

3 minutes ago, novacova said:

Well of course. We know a lot of folks are impatient and want overnight results, though new frameworks needed for attractive terms, sanctions relief is expected but not fully implemented yet. So you’re just going to have to wait and cool your jets.

And if those attractive terms include include the Federal Govt indemnifying the oil companies against any losses?

1 hour ago, novacova said:

Well of course. We know a lot of folks are impatient and want overnight results, though new frameworks needed for attractive terms, sanctions relief is expected but not fully implemented yet. So you’re just going to have to wait and cool your jets.

Really? So they removed Maduro but had no actual plan in place about what to do next? I remember when the Bush administration was criticized for its unrealistic plan about what to do after Saddam was deposed. But at least they had a plan in place. This is so amateurish, it's material for a farce.

The international oil markets have classified this as a "non event" pricewise.

18 hours ago, Alan Zweibel said:

Wow! Zelenskyy is a "neo-Nazi" maniac and Jewish. That's quite an achievement.

Small mind can not see the forest for the trees

On 1/6/2026 at 12:32 AM, CallumWK said:

It looks like they are no longer silent, but decided to expose the lies from the liar in chief.

Trump administration has not consulted US oil majors about Venezuela, oil execs say

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Trump administration did not consult with oil companies Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, or Chevron Corp about ‌Venezuela before or after U.S. forces captured the South ‌American country’s president Nicolas Maduro Jan. 3, according to four oil industry executives familiar with the matter.

That contradicts President Donald Trump's assertion aboard ⁠Air Force One ‌on Sunday that he had spoken to all of the U.S. oil ‍companies "before and after" Maduro’s capture about his plans for investing in the country.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-administration-not-consulted-us-171311809.html

Other reports indicate that the total deposit is a hard crude oil which is not popular with the big refiners, is difficult and expensive to extact andexpensive to refine and very little has ever been refined.

23 hours ago, kwilco said:

Is there anyone in America who thinks the Venezuela exercise was a good idea or even makes sense?

There are plenty. You can recognize them by the red hats they wear.