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United States President Donald Trump has called on oil executives to rush back into Venezuela as the White House looks to quickly secure $100bn in investments to revive the country\u2019s ability\u00a0to fully tap into its expansive reserves of petroleum.<\/p>\n
Trump, as he opened the meeting with oil industry executives on Friday, sought to assure them that they need not be sceptical of quickly investing in and, in some cases, returning to the South American country with a history of state asset seizures as well as ongoing US sanctions and the current political uncertainty.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n \u201cYou have total safety,\u201d Trump told the executives. \u201cYou\u2019re dealing with us directly and not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don\u2019t want you to deal with Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump added: \u201cOur giant oil companies will be spending at least $100bn of their money, not the government\u2019s money. They don\u2019t need government money. But they need government protection.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump welcomed the oil executives to the White House after US forces earlier on Friday seized their fifth tanker over the past month that has been linked to Venezuelan oil. The action reflected the determination of the US to fully control the exporting, refining and production of Venezuelan petroleum, a sign of the Trump administration\u2019s plans for ongoing involvement in the sector as it seeks commitments from private companies.<\/p>\n \u201cAt least 100 Billion Dollars will be invested by BIG OIL, all of whom I will be meeting with today at The White House,\u201d Trump said on Friday in a predawn social media post.<\/p>\n The White House said it invited oil executives from 17 companies, including Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, as well as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost as part of a 2007 nationalisation of private businesses under former President Nicolas Maduro\u2019s predecessor, Hugo Chavez.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we look at the commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, today it\u2019s un-investable,\u201d said Darren Woods, ExxonMobil CEO. \u201cAnd so significant changes have to be made to those commercial frameworks, the legal system, there has to be durable investment protections and there has to be change to the hydrocarbon laws in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Benjamin Radd, a senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations, told Al Jazeera that he had \u201cnoted the hesitation and less-than-full-throated enthusiasm for re-entering the Venezuelan market\u201d, citing Woods, who told the gathering that the company had its assets there seized twice already.<\/p>\n \u201cThe bottom line is that until Trump can outline and provide assurances of a plan towards political stability, it will continue to be a risky endeavour for these oil companies to re-engage Venezuela. And what is there is a regime change in Iran in the days or weeks or months to come, and all of a sudden that re-emerges as a place where Western oil companies can do business? Even though the reserves don\u2019t equal what Venezuela has, the risk is far less, and the infrastructure is more sound,\u201d Radd said.<\/p>\n Other companies invited included Halliburton, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Singapore-based Trafigura, Italy-based Eni and Spain-based Repsol, as well as a vast swath of domestic and international companies with interests ranging from construction to the commodity markets.<\/p>\n Large US oil companies have so far largely refrained from affirming investments in Venezuela, as contracts and guarantees need to be in place. Trump has suggested that the US would help to backstop any investments.<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s oil production has slumped below one million barrels per day (bpd). Part of Trump\u2019s challenge to turn that around will be to convince oil companies that his administration has a stable relationship with Venezuela\u2019s interim President Delcy Rodriguez, as well as protections for companies entering the market.<\/p>\n While Rodriguez has publicly denounced Trump and the abduction and ouster of Maduro, the US president has said that to date, Venezuela\u2019s interim leader has been cooperating behind the scenes with his administration.<\/p>\n Most companies are in a wait-and-see mode as they await terms from the Venezuelans, stability and wait to find out how much the US government will actually help, said Rachel Ziemba, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.<\/p>\n Those like Chevron that are already in there are in a better position to increase investments as they \u201calready have sunk costs\u201d, Ziemba pointed out.<\/p>\n Ziemba said she expects a partial ramp-up in the first half of this year as the volumes that were going to China \u2013 Venezuelan oil\u2019s largest buyer \u2013 are redirected and sold via the US. \u201cBut long-term investments will be slow,\u201d she said as companies wait to find out about US commitments and Venezuelan terms.<\/p>\n Tyson Slocum, director of the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen\u2019s energy programme, criticised the gathering and called the US military\u2019s removal of Maduro \u201cviolent imperialism\u201d. Slocum added that Trump\u2019s goal appears to be to \u201chand billionaires control over Venezuela\u2019s oil\u201d.<\/p>\n So far, the US government has not said how the revenue from the sale of Venezuelan oil will be shared and what percentage of the sales would be given to Caracas.<\/p>\n Ziemba said she was worried that \u201cif funds do not go to Venezuela for basic goods, among other local needs, there will be instability that will deepen the country\u2019s economic crisis\u201c.<\/p>\n In the news conference on Friday, Trump said the US had a formula for distributing payments<\/a>. UCLA\u2019s Radd said that \u201cif the US can or will guarantee security and stability, it makes sense for it to expect a return on investment in that sense. But then this makes it sound more like a mafia-style \u2018racket\u2019 than a government-led operation\u201d, he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the US and Venezuelan governments said on Friday they were exploring the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations between the two countries, and a delegation from the\u00a0Trump administration\u00a0arrived in the South American nation on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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