Trump May Freeze Exxon Out Of Venezuela After CEO Darren Woods Called It “Uninvestable”

Tensions flared between Exxon Mobil and the White House after CEO Darren Woods cast doubt on Venezuela’s appeal as an investment destination during a closed-door meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and other oil executives last week, according to Reuters.

Woods argued that without sweeping legal and regulatory changes, the country could not support major foreign investment, describing its current system as “uninvestable.”

Trump had convened the meeting only days after U.S. forces removed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in an overnight operation and urged the industry to commit as much as $100 billion to rebuilding Venezuela’s energy sector. Instead of gaining momentum, the talks were quickly overshadowed by Woods’ skepticism.

Reuters writes that Trump publicly voiced his frustration on Sunday while returning to Washington aboard Air Force One. “I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” he said. “I’ll probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn’t like their response. They’re playing too cute.”

Exxon has long been entangled in Venezuela’s oil history. Along with ConocoPhillips and Chevron, it was once a leading foreign partner of the state firm PDVSA before nationalizations under Hugo Chavez forced Exxon and ConocoPhillips to exit the country and pursue arbitration. Court rulings later ordered Venezuela to pay more than $13 billion collectively to the two companies for seized assets.

Woods reminded Trump of that history, saying, “We’ve had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen here.” He also stressed that investment protections and reform of the hydrocarbons law were essential, adding, “If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it’s uninvestable.”

ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance echoed the caution, telling Trump his company was the largest non-sovereign creditor in Venezuela and calling for a broad overhaul of the country’s energy system and debt structure. Trump replied that ConocoPhillips would recover much of what it was owed but insisted the future would begin anew. “We’re not going to look at what people lost in the past because that was their fault,” he said.

The president also made clear that Washington would control which companies are allowed to operate in Venezuela. “You’re dealing with us directly. You’re not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela,” he said.

Recall, last week Trump met with leaders from Chevron, Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Continental, Halliburton, HKN, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Trafigura, Vitol Americas, Repsol, Eni, Aspect Holdings, Tallgrass, Raisa Energy and Hilcorp. 

Trump has argued that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves could help revive its economy while also benefiting U.S. consumers and energy companies. In a recent interview, he said he wants companies to commit at least $100 billion to “rebuild the whole oil infrastructure” in the country.

The administration has tightened pressure on Venezuela through a new oil “quarantine,” including the seizure of another tanker Friday, the fifth such action in recent weeks. Rubio said the strategy gives the U.S. “tremendous leverage” and that Washington plans to sell up to 50 million barrels of sanctioned crude on the open market, with the proceeds under U.S. control.