Trump wants American oil companies to reach Venezuela. Here’s what you need to know

Read this news in English.

After the US military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump made it clear that the US operation was aimed, at least in part, at controlling Venezuelan oil.

Last Friday, Trump met with the heads of the major oil companies at the White House.

“We will discuss how these major American companies can help quickly rebuild Venezuela’s deteriorating oil industry and generate millions of barrels of oil production for the benefit of the United States, the people of Venezuela and the entire world,” Trump said at a news conference on Friday.

Maduro’s arrest and comments from Trump administration officials come at a time when Venezuela, which has one of the world’s largest oil reserves, has no certainty of attracting major oil companies.

Many oil companies have seen their businesses damaged by their past experiences in the South American country. The global oil market is currently experiencing oversupply.

Crude oil prices are below $60 per barrel, and long-term demand forecasts for the commodity are uncertain as the world moves toward greater use of electric vehicles.

Trump promises to make way for American oil companies in Venezuela. However, there is a long history of US interventions. “US interventions in Latin America and the Middle East have not yielded good results,” oil industry experts told NPR.

Here’s what you need to know about Venezuela’s oil.

Venezuela has enormous oil reserves, but produces only a fraction of what it used to produce.

Venezuela was once one of the world’s largest oil producers and was a key founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), a group of some of the world’s largest crude oil producers, whose decisions help set global oil prices. Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world.

However, while the country produced a few decades ago more than 3 million barrels per dayCurrently, Venezuela only extracts about one million barrels per day, equivalent to about 1% of world oil production. The United States produces about 13 million barrels per day.

Much of Venezuela’s oil went to refineries in the United States. Now a large part of it is destined for China.

Not all crude oil is created equal: some is physically lighter and easier for refineries to process. Venezuelan oil is heavy and dense and requires special refineries. Burning any type of crude oil contributes to climate change, but Venezuelan oil is “among the most polluting in the world in terms of global warming,” said Paasha Mahdavi, an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The El Palito refinery will rise above Puerto Cabello, Venezuela on Sunday, December 21, 2025

Matias Delacroix/AP photo

hide caption

change caption

Matias Delacroix/AP photo

Venezuela owes billions of dollars to American oil companies

American oil companies such as Chevron began extracting oil in Venezuela about 100 years ago and played a key role in the development of the country’s oil sector.

But between 2004 and 2007, then-President Hugo Chávez “actually aggressively renegotiated contracts” with international oil companies, said Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American energy program at Rice University’s Center for Energy Studies.

ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips left the country in 2007 and subsequently took the Venezuelan government to international arbitration tribunals. The court has ordered Venezuela to pay more than $10 billion to ConocoPhillips and more than $1 billion to ExxonMobil. Venezuela has paid only a fraction of these amounts to ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

Chevron, however, remained in Venezuela even though “they didn’t like it,” says Gerald Kepes, president of Competitive Energy Strategies, an energy consulting firm in Washington, D.C.

Today, Chevron produces about a quarter of Venezuela’s oil.

In response to news of Maduro’s arrest, Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said in an email: “Chevron remains focused on the safety and well-being of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets. We continue to operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.”

Trump has said Venezuela has “stolen” US investments in the country’s energy sector.

Will American oil companies come back?

Venezuela’s oil industry is well established and oil companies have a pretty good idea of ​​what they will encounter when drilling. For companies like ConocoPhillips, returning to Venezuela could be an opportunity to recoup some of the billions owed by the government, Monaldi said.

In an email, ConocoPhillips spokesman Dennis Nuss wrote: “ConocoPhillips is monitoring developments in Venezuela and their potential implications for global energy supply and stability. It would be premature to speculate on future business activities or investments.”

ExxonMobil did not respond to a request for comment.

Still, this is not the best time to increase global oil supply, Monaldi said. There is currently a surplus of oil worldwide.

Aerial view of a boat on the Demerara River in Georgetown, Guyana on August 29, 2025

JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP via Getty Images

hide caption

change caption

JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP via Getty Images

Venezuela’s neighbor is a rising oil star

Next door to Venezuela is Guyana, a country that recently discovered more than 10 billion barrels of oil and is a major emerging player in the international oil industry.

Guyana’s oil is lighter than Venezuela’s, less polluting and has lower taxes, Monaldi said. There is also no national oil company in Guyana, as there is in Venezuela.

“All this makes Guyana one of the most attractive oil locations in the world,” Monaldi said.

Although ExxonMobil no longer has a presence in Venezuela, it is a major player in Guyana.

Venezuela and Guyana have had a territorial dispute for years that is also related to oil rights. Last March, Venezuelan ships entered Guyanese territorial waters and approached oil tankers on the high seas owned by ExxonMobil.

“Without a doubt, Guyana should feel more secure with regime change,” Monaldi said.

Lack of political stability could be a decisive factor

An increase in Venezuelan oil production could happen quite quickly with more financial support and better management This is evident from an analysis by Wood Mackenzie, a consultancy firm in the energy sector.

But Mahdavi believes the Trump administration’s plans to boost the industry will be difficult. He notes that it took almost two decades to revive Iraq’s oil industry after the US invasion, although corruption and mismanagement remain widespread.

And ultimately, according to Kepes, oil companies will worry about the viability of their contracts if it is not clear who is in charge in Venezuela.

“No one is going to invest in a place where there is no legal contract or viable license to operate, or where there are concerns about political stability and violence,” Kepes said.

This note has been translated by Texas Public Radio with support from Gabriela Olivares and Yvette Benavides, for NPR and The Texas Newsroom.