ExxonMobil CEO Says Venezuela Not Investment-Ready Amid U.S. Sanctions, Four Dark-Sailing Tankers Return to Venezuelan Waters

U.S. major oil company executives have been cautious in response to President Trump (Donald Trump)'s urging them to spend at least $10 billion to rebuild Venezuela, with ExxonMobil's CEO even stating face-to-face that the country is currently "not investment-worthy."

On Friday, Trump convened nearly 20 industry representatives in the East Room of the White House and predicted they would "reach an agreement today or soon" to revitalize their operations in this oil-rich Latin American country. This came after Venezuelan President Maduro was captured by U.S. military and law enforcement personnel across the border.

Trump told the executives from major oil companies, "If you don't want to enter (Venezuela), just tell me, because I have 25 people who didn't come today who are willing to take your place." Some of the corporate representatives' comments indicate that Trump may need further persuasion work.

Although many praised Trump and expressed anticipation for opportunities in Venezuela, they emphasized that significant efforts are still needed before making substantive investments. ExxonMobil CEO Woods expressed the strongest reservations.

Woods said, "From the current legal and business framework in Venezuela, the country is not investment-worthy." He also added that ExxonMobil's assets had been seized twice by the Caracas government.

Woods asked, "How reliable are these protections from a financial perspective? What will be the returns? What are the commercial arrangements and legal frameworks? All of these must be in place to make a decision and understand the returns over the next few decades."

Nevertheless, Woods stated that if the Venezuelan government extended an invitation and provided appropriate security guarantees, ExxonMobil is ready to "send a team for on-site inspection."

Even Harold Hamm, chairman of Continental Resources, a long-time supporter of Trump, avoided questions about his personal plans to enter Venezuela, but admitted that the prospect was "exciting for this explorer." Hamm told Trump, "A huge amount of money needs to be invested—we all agree on that, of course, and it will also take time to complete this work."

After the meeting, Trump expressed confidence and told reporters, "We basically reached an agreement. They will invest billions of dollars in oil drilling, which is good for Venezuela and extremely good for the United States."

However, when asked about specific commitments, U.S. Energy Secretary Wright mentioned only Chevron — the only major American company still operating in Venezuela — as the "only specific commitment" made by the major oil companies to help restore the country's crude production.

Chevron Vice President Nelson said the company is preparing to significantly increase its production in Venezuela — currently around 240,000 barrels per day — and raise output by approximately 50% within 18 to 24 months.

Meanwhile, according to Venezuela's state oil company (PDVSA) and monitoring service website TankerTrackers, at least four tankers, most of which were fully loaded, set sail from Venezuela in early January, when they were in a "dark-sailing" state — i.e., they had turned off their transponders during the strict U.S. blockade — and have now returned to the waters of this South American country.

Last month, a fleet consisting of about a dozen fully loaded tankers and at least three empty ships left the waters of Venezuela, apparently openly violating the blockade imposed by the Trump administration since mid-December last year. This blockade has reduced Venezuela's oil exports to a minimum.

One of the ships, the Panamanian-flagged super tanker "M Sophia," was intercepted and detained by the U.S. when it returned to Venezuela; another, the Aframax tanker "Olina" flying the flag of São Tomé and Príncipe, was also intercepted by the U.S., but was released towards Venezuela on Friday.

In addition, the Tankertrackers website discovered three more ships from the fleet in the waters of Venezuela on Friday evening through satellite images: the Panamanian-flagged "Merope," the Cook Islands-flagged "Min Hang" (translated), and the Panamanian-flagged "Thalia III."

The U.S. authorities said on Friday that the "Olina" would be released. Venezuela is still under strict supervision by the U.S. following the recent cross-border capture of its president, Maduro. They also said that Venezuela will begin organized oil exports, part of a $2 billion crude supply agreement between Caracas and Washington.

When meeting with executives from several oil companies on Friday, Trump claimed that the crude supply arrangement had made progress. According to sources, global trading companies Vitol and Trafigura have received the first U.S. licenses this week to negotiate and transport Venezuela's oil exports, and are expected to supply naphtha to this OPEC member country.

Source: rfi

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Original: toutiao.com/article/1854001558101068/

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