NewzVille Desk
U.S. President Donald Trump met with top executives of oil companies and urged them to invest billions of dollars in tapping Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. Trump said that oil companies would have security guarantees to operate in Venezuela, declaring Caracas “open for business.”
Executives from Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Continental Resources were among the 14 oil multinationals at the White House meeting. European companies including Repsol, Shell and Eni were also in attendance.
U.S. officials said they need to control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues indefinitely to ensure the country acts in U.S. interests, including reducing corruption and drug trafficking. ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods said Venezuela requires significant changes to its commercial and legal systems to become investable, adding that he expects these shifts under Trump’s administration.
Meanwhile, a joint operation was carried out by the U.S. and Venezuela to return the oil tanker Minerva to Venezuelan waters. A statement from the South American nation’s oil ministry and state-run firm PDVSA said the ship had departed without payment or authorization from Venezuelan authorities.
