Venezuela News Updates

Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez used her first state of the union message Jan. 15 to advocate for opening the crucial state-run oil industry to more foreign investment.

The supertanker Marbella, whose location was a mystery for more than a year, turned on its transponder this past weekend to reveal it was sitting off the coast of Venezuela.

The Veronica is the fourth tanker seized since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said it would take years to increase Venezuela’s oil output to above 3 million barrels a day from less than 1 million currently.

“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump said to reporters on Air Force One as he departed West Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 11. “They’re playing too cute.”

President Donald Trump called on oil executives to rush back into Venezuela as the White House looks to quickly secure $100 billion in investments to revive the country's petroleum reserves.

Among the companies attending are Chevron, which still operates in Venezuela, and Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, which both had oil projects in the country that were lost in 2007.

Chevron, the sole Western supermajor permitted to pump Venezuelan oil, is loading tankers at the fastest pace in seven months as the U.S. government moves to control the nation’s crude riches. 

Oil companies are wary of spending tens of billions of dollars into the country over the next decade and are looking for guarantees of physical and financial security amid stability concerns.