Trump to Meet Energy Executives, Outline Plan for Venezuela
(Bloomberg) --
President Donald Trump is set to outline his vision for rebuilding Venezuela’s battered oil sector Friday in a meeting with representatives from 17 energy companies, including crude producers, refiners and commodity traders.
Industry executives slated to attend the Friday afternoon meeting include both US oil majors — Chevron Corp. Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips — and smaller independent producers, including Continental Resources Inc. and Hilcorp Energy Co., a White House official said.
Trump said in a social media post ahead of the meeting that it will be almost exclusively a discussion about Venezuelan oil. “A very big factor in this involvement will be the reduction of Oil Prices for the American People,” he wrote.
The president is counting on oil companies from the US and elsewhere to transform Venezuela’s oil sector and boost its production. While executives are keen to express support for the president and tap Venezuela’s vast reserves, they’re wary of heavily investing without guarantees of physical and financial security amid concerns about the stability of the country in the wake of former President Nicolás Maduro’s apprehension by US troops.
Although Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest proved crude reserves, its output has dwindled to less than 1 million barrels per day after decades of disrepair and the exodus of most foreign operators — far from its 1970s peak closer to 4 million barrels daily. Its decrepit pipelines, pumps and other infrastructure could take years to repair.
“The industry wants to learn from the president how he’s thinking about next steps in Venezuela,” said Mike Sommers, president of the American Petroleum Institute. “Venezuela is currently not investable, and what they’re going to need is some assurance that it’s going to be investable in the future. And that’s going to require significant policy changes, security guarantees and some assurance that the government is going to be stable into the future.”
Trump said in a post on social media early Friday that “At least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House.”
No oil companies have made public spending commitments, but one expert has estimated restoring the industry would cost about $10 billion annually over the next decade. Others have put the sum even higher, noting that merely maintaining current production is a huge capital undertaking.
The president suggested earlier in the week that the US might subsidize oil companies’ rebuilding efforts. But on Friday, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Washington is unlikely to provide financial support.
“The capital is going to come from the capital markets and come from the energy companies,” Burgum, who also leads the White House’s National Energy Dominance Council, told Bloomberg Television. “I don’t see that these companies are going to need support from the US, other than things around security. If we can provide a secure, stable environment, the resource here is so significant and so large that it’s going to be attractive for people to go in and develop.”
As oil executives prepared for their meeting at the White House, Trump said early Friday that a second wave of attacks on Venezuela has been canceled, citing improved cooperation from the country after some political prisoners were released. The US military, however, continues to control the region, and on Friday the US Coast Guard boarded another oil tanker.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former oil company executive who is taking a lead role executing plans for selling Venezuelan oil and redeveloping its industry, will be part of Friday’s session, along with Burgum and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Oilfield service firm Halliburton Co., refiners Valero Energy Corp. and Marathon Petroleum Corp., and traders Trafigura Group and Vitol Americas also are invited to attend, along with Shell Plc, Spain’s Repsol SA and Italy’s Eni SpA, the White House official said. Other companies that have confirmed attendance, according to the official, include HKN Inc. Tallgrass Energy, Raisa Energy and Aspect Holdings.
“The American people, energy companies, and the Venezuelan people will all greatly benefit from these new, unprecedented investments in Venezuela’s oil infrastructure thanks to President Trump,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.
Already markets are being affected by the administration’s plans to start selling Venezuelan crude that’s built up in storage amid a US naval blockade.
Trump has enjoyed strong support from the oil industry, which helped bankroll his reelection campaign. Some of his supporters include Hilcorp’s Jeff Hildebrand and Continental co-founder Harold Hamm.
Oil executives were part of a closed-door energy roundtable at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in April 2024, when the then-presidential candidate scoffed at wind power, said he’d undo some environmental regulations and asked the group to raise $1 billion, according to people familiar with the exchange.
(Adds comment from US President Donald Trump in the third paragraph.)
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