Trump: US Could Pay Back Big Oil's Venezuela Investment

President Trump is dangling a major incentive to US oil companies if they help remake Venezuela's battered energy sector: the prospect that Washington might pay them back. Analysts say the effort is likely to take years and billions of dollars, per the Guardian. In an interview with NBC News, Trump said he believes American firms could restore and expand Venezuelan oil production in under 18 months, but only with massive investment. "A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent," he said, adding that companies would "get reimbursed by us or through revenue." He declined to estimate the total cost but called it "very substantial," while predicting that both the companies and Venezuela would ultimately benefit.

Whether that reimbursement comes directly from US taxpayers or from future oil profits is a central unanswered question—and a potential sticking point for industry executives still wary of Venezuela. Major firms such as Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips have seen their assets expropriated there multiple times, including nationalizations in the 1970s and again under Hugo Chávez in 2006–2007. Exxon CEO Darren Woods recently noted the company had been "expropriated from Venezuela two different times" and said any return would depend on the economics. Chevron, which accepted tougher terms years ago, remains in the country under a sanctions waiver.

Trump argues that bringing Venezuela's vast reserves back online would push crude prices lower, and in turn make US gasoline cheaper. But cheaper oil would also squeeze the same companies he is counting on to pour billions into Venezuela's infrastructure. Asked whether he had spoken to top executives at Exxon, Chevron, and ConocoPhillips, Trump refused to say, though he noted the firms were aware the administration was considering action against deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The Guardian reports Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to meet this week with oil executives as the administration maps out its broader push to rebuild Venezuela's oil sector.