Trump threatens to keep Exxon out of Venezuela oil plan

President Trump threatened to keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela over skeptical remarks by its CEO on the worth of investment efforts there after the U.S. seizure of former President Nicolas Maduro.

At a meeting Friday at the White House with executives from major U.S. energy companies, Mr. Trump said the companies would be dealing with the U.S. government, prompting ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods to push back, calling the country “uninvestible.”

That led to Mr. Trump’s ire Sunday evening as he prepared to fly back to the White House from his Florida resort.

“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” he told reporters on Air Force One. “They’re playing too cute.”

He said he was “inclined” to keep the firm, America’s largest oil company, out of Venezuela.

ExxonMobil had no immediate public reaction Sunday evening.

At Friday’s meeting at the White House, Mr. Trump also had said that he would be personally deciding on which oil companies will be allowed to enter Venezuela.

“We’re going to cut a deal with the companies — we’ll probably be doing that today or very shortly thereafter,” he said.

At the roundtable meeting, Mr. Trump said U.S. oil companies are prepared to invest $100 billion “of their money, not the government’s money” to rebuild the energy infrastructure in Venezuela which holds the world’s largest known oil reserves.

He said the oil companies don’t need federal funding, but “need government protection and government security” to be able to operate safely in Venezuela. Industry experts have cited political stability and security as one of the biggest concerns about going into the country.

He did not say what the U.S. would do specifically to provide security guarantees for the oil companies, but said American taxpayers would be paid back with “even lower energy prices.”

Mr. Woods pushed back on Mr. Trump’s plan, saying that the current situation on the ground in the South American country presents a dangerous risk to the company.

“If we look at the commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela, today it’s uninvestable,” he said, citing the political instability, crime and high taxes, which are as high as 60% on oil profits.

Still, Mr. Woods expressed confidence that the Trump administration would make the changes necessary to produce a financial return. He said his company would start assessing Venezuela within the next couple of weeks.

Besides ExxonMobil executives from Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Halliburton, and Marathon were among those attending the meeting.

ExxonMobil left Venezuela in 2007 when President Hugo Chavez nationalized the oil industry and the company refused to accept the terms. ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance noted that his company also lost $12 billion from the nationalization of Venezuela’s oil industry.

Mr. Trump tried to assure the oil executives that they would be compensated for assets that were seized in 2007.

Chevron, which attended Friday’s meeting, is the only U.S. oil company currently operating in Venezuela through a joint venture with the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela.

Venezuela has the largest proven crude oil reserves in the world at roughly 303 billion barrels, which accounts for 17% of the global total, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

But its oil sector is in disrepair and desperately needs private investment to turn it around. Production has declined from its peak of about 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1990s to around 800,000 barrels per day, according to data from energy consulting firm Kpler.

It is estimated that it will cost more than $180 billion through 2040 for Venezuela’s production to reach 3 million barrels per day again.

The president said the Venezuelan oil will be used in different ways, including to build U.S. roads. He also said it could be sold to China and Russia.

“We are open for business,” Mr. Trump said. “China can buy all the oil they want from us, there or in the United States. Russia can get the oil they need from us.”

Venezuela has agreed to “immediately” begin refining and selling up to 50 million barrels of crude oil, which Mr. Trump said would continue “indefinitely.” As many as 30 million barrels are already on their way.

The president said the oil windfall is on the way “right now.”

“It’s about $4 billion worth of oil and it’s on our way to the United States right now, and we want to thank Venezuela for that,” he said.

Mr. Trump said the U.S. is working “very well” with Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez. Formerly Venezuela’s vice president under Mr. Maduro, she was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on Saturday.