"US oil giants silent on Trump claim they will spend billions on Venezuelan oil industry", 03 January 2026

...US oil giants have so far remained silent on Donald Trump’s claim that they are primed to spend “billions and billions of dollars” rebuilding the Venezuelan oil industry following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro​.

Chevron, the only US oil company still operating in Venezuela, committed only to following “relevant laws and regulations” after the US president suggested American energy multinationals would be central to his plans for the country...

“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies – the biggest anywhere in the world – go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure and start making money for the country,” the president said. The firms would be “reimbursed”, he added, without providing more detail.

ExxonMobil, the biggest US oil company, did not respond to a request for comment. ConocoPhillips, another major player, said it was monitoring developments and added: “It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments.”

A spokesperson for Chevron said: “Chevron remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets. We continue to operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.”

Venezuela​ moved to nationalize its oil industry about 50 years ago, and​ later ​seized control of operations still run under private arrangements​ in 2007. While Chevron agreed to remain, others including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips​ refused to accept new terms.

ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips engaged in a years-long legal battle with Venezuela after exiting, and were ultimately awarded billions of dollars by the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. But Venezuela, with an economy battered by sanctions, mismanagement and corruption, has yet to pay all the money.

For now, a US embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect...