By Jarrett Renshaw
Jan 11 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he may block Exxon Mobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil major’s CEO called the country “uninvestable” during a White House meeting last week.
Exxon CEO Darren Woods told Trump that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could be an attractive investment opportunity, during Friday’s high-profile meeting with at least 17 other oil executives.
Trump had urged the group to spend $100 billion to revive Venezuela’s oil industry at a meeting less than a week after US forces captured and ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a brazen overnight raid.
Woods’ skeptical remarks quickly emerged as the dominant headline, undermining the White House’s hopes of building momentum from its engagement with the world’s most prominent oil executives.
“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back to Washington on Sunday. “I’d probably be inclined to keep Exxon out. I didn’t like their response. They’re playing too cute.”
Exxon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
EXXON, CONOCOPHILLIPS WARNING SIGN ON VENEZUELA
Exxon, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, the three largest oil producers in the United States, have for decades been the most prominent partners of Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA.
The government of late President Hugo Chavez nationalized the industry between 2004 and 2007, and while Chevron negotiated agreements to join PDVSA, ​ConocoPhillips and Exxon left the country and filed prominent arbitration cases soon after.
Venezuela now owes over $13 billion collectively to ConocoPhillips and Exxon for expropriations, according to court rulings.
“We’ve had our assets trapped there twice, so you can imagine going in a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen here,” Woods told Trump on Friday.
Woods said Exxon needed to introduce lasting investment protections and the country’s hydrocarbons law also needed to be reformed.
“If we look at the legal and commercial constructions and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it is not investable,” he said.
ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance told Trump that his company was the largest non-sovereign credit holder in Venezuela, and called for a restructuring of the country’s entire debt and energy system, including PDVSA.
Trump said ConocoPhillips will get most of the money back, but the United States will start with a clean slate. “We’re not going to look at what people lost in the past because it was their fault,” he said.