Fri, 09 Jan 2026

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 Trump seeks $100bn for Venezuela oil, but Exxon boss says country 'uninvestable'

Oil executives expressed caution, with one executive saying Venezuela had seized their assets twice.

* US President Donald Trump has asked for at least $100bn in oil industry spending for Venezuela, but received a lukewarm response.
* Oil executives expressed caution and said significant changes were needed to make Venezuela an attractive investment.
* Exxon's CEO Darren Woods said: "Today it's uninvestable."
* Chevron is the last remaining major American oil firm still operating in Venezuela.
* Trump has promised to exert control over the sales of Venezuelan oil, as a way to maintain leverage over the country's government.
* The US has seized several oil tankers carrying sanctioned crude and is working to set up a sales process that would deposit money into US-controlled accounts.
* Analysts say meaningfully increasing production in Venezuela would take significant effort and investment.
* Trump's promised $100bn of investment into Venezuela could have a major impact on production, but companies are unlikely to invest without subsidies and political stability.
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