ExxonMobil’s chief executive Darren Woods said that Venezuela is “uninvestable” without “significant changes”, striking a sceptical tone over Donald Trump’s call for a flood of investment.
The head of the biggest US oil company said he was ready to put a technical team on the ground within weeks to assess opportunities in Venezuela.
But he shied away from the president’s call for companies to commit to investments in the country “today”.
“We first got into Venezuela back in [the] 1940s, we’ve had our assets seized there twice,” Wood said. “And so you can imagine, to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen here and what is currently the state.”
“If we look at the legal and commercial constructs, frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it’s uninvestable, and so significant changes have to be made to those commercial frameworks, the legal system,” he added. “There has to be durable investment protections, and there has to be change to the hydrocarbon laws in the country.”
The FT reported earlier this week that the oil industry was unlikely to make big investments in Venezuela without legal, financial and security assurances from Washington.
Trump vowed on Friday that the US oil industry would be provided with “total security” and other guarantees, but he did not offer specifics on what would be offered.