White House Tells US Oil Giants: Invest in Venezuela to Recover Expropriated Assets
Washington just handed Big Oil a geopolitical playbook—and it's written in crude.
The New Caracas Gambit
Forget sanctions. The latest White House memo reads like a corporate ransom note: sink fresh capital into Venezuela's crumbling energy sector if you ever want to see your seized assets again. It's a high-stakes bet that turns political leverage into direct investment pressure.
Asset Recovery, Redefined
No courtroom battles, no arbitration panels. The administration's pitch is brutally simple—deploy operational dollars today to unlock billions stranded since the mass nationalizations. It reframes 'expropriation' as a negotiable liability, not a legal conclusion.
The Petro-Diplomacy Calculus
This isn't aid; it's a structured re-entry. By tying asset recovery to new investment, the move effectively privatizes a chunk of diplomatic rapprochement. Companies become both creditors and partners in a single deal—a neat trick if you can stomach the counterparty risk.
Because nothing says 'stable investment climate' like paying twice for the same oil field—once before it was stolen, and once after to maybe get it back. Classic frontier-market finance.
The play exposes a raw truth: in global energy, even confiscated assets have a call option. And Washington just told its oil giants how—and where—to exercise it.
US investors to lead efforts to revive Venezuela’s oil industry
President Donald TRUMP said on Saturday that American firms were ready to return to Venezuela and spend to revive the struggling oil sector, just hours after President Nicolás Maduro had been captured and ousted by US forces.
In recent talks with oil executives from the United States administration, officials have stated that if Maduro were replaced, American oil companies WOULD have to fund the investment themselves to reconstruct Venezuela’s oil industry. That was one of the conditions that would have to be met for them to settle debts from the expropriations in the end.
The MOVE would heavily penalize companies such as ConocoPhillips, according to the sources. In recent years, following the nationalization of its assets in Venezuela under the Chávez administration, ConocoPhillips has spent nearly $12 billion. ExxonMobil has also pursued arbitration abroad, seeking to recover approximately $1.65 billion for lost income. Last month, when US President Donald Trump ordered an oil tanker blockade to shut out Venezuelan vessels, the revival of attention to these expropriations brought public knowledge back anew.
Oil companies weigh risks before returning
Any return, the sources said, would depend on how executives, boards, and shareholders assess the risks of re-investing in Venezuela. The company is tracking developments in Venezuela and their potential impact on global energy supply and stability, said a ConocoPhillips spokesperson.
It’s also too early to talk about any future business plans or investments, the spokesperson said. The company repeated the same message on Sunday when asked about possible talks with government officials.
Exxon did not respond right away to questions from reporters on Sunday. Analysts said that even if oil companies decide to return to Venezuela, it could take several years for oil production to rise significantly. Venezuela has some of the largest oil reserves in the world, but its output has fallen sharply over the years due to poor management, a lack of investment, and US sanctions.
Experts said that companies would face many challenges. These include unclear contract rules, security risks, weak infrastructure, questions about the legality of US actions against President Nicolás Maduro, and the risk of long-term political instability.
As one of the earliest members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Venezuela was once a major global oil producer. By the 2010s, however, production had fallen to below 2 million barrels per day for a combination of reasons.
The country suffered under years of mismanagement and underinvestment, rebuked by sanctions during a time when domestic political dissatisfaction with socialism was also growing. Last year, Venezuela was producing an average of 1.1 million barrels a day. This represents only a fraction of the global output, in sharp contrast to its former role as one of the leading suppliers of crude oil worldwide.
Get $50 free to trade crypto when you sign up to Bybit now
