President Donald Trump is set to meet with executives from major oil companies later this week at the White House to discuss strategies for reviving Venezuela’s ailing oil industry, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
Two sources told Reuters that the meeting is likely to take place on Friday, Jan. 9, though the identities of attendees have not yet been confirmed. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rebuilding Venezuela’s oil production is a central priority for the Trump administration following the recent seizure of the country’s leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a U.S.-led raid on Caracas. The South American nation, home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has seen its exports plummet to under 1 million barrels per day, down from more than 3 million barrels two decades ago. Years of underinvestment have left the sector’s infrastructure in disrepair.
Despite skepticism from analysts and industry insiders, administration officials argue that the sector can be revitalized quickly with the infusion of new technology and equipment. Chevron remains the only U.S. oil major currently operating in Venezuela, while Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips were forced to leave the country nearly 20 years ago after former President Hugo Chavez nationalized their assets. Neither company has publicly indicated whether they would return.
U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum suggested that lifting sanctions on Venezuela could accelerate production. “Some of these things could be done very quickly. The opportunity on the business side here is really enormous,” he said during an interview on Fox Business Network.
Trump has indicated that U.S. companies could significantly increase Venezuelan output within 18 months, potentially with government-backed subsidies. Speaking to NBC News on Monday, he said, “A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent, and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue.”
The president also highlighted the potential domestic benefits of increased Venezuelan production. “We got a lot of oil to drill, which is going to bring down oil prices even further,” he told House Republicans on Tuesday.
However, industry experts caution that the administration’s timeline is overly ambitious. Renata Segura, director of the Latin America and Caribbean program at the International Crisis Group, said that restoring production could take at least three years. “It’s not just about equipment. Venezuela needs a stable, constitutional government and a clear roadmap toward democracy,” she explained. Segura emphasized that short-term goals, such as the removal of Maduro and increasing oil output, must be balanced with a longer-term political strategy.
Venezuela’s oil is also notoriously difficult and expensive to develop. Much of it is heavy and requires specialized equipment for extraction, transportation, and refining. Global oil prices, currently around $60 per barrel, further complicate investment decisions, as producers often prioritize reserves that are cheaper and easier to exploit.
Analysts at Goldman Sachs estimate that production increases may be limited to 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day over the next year, given the degraded state of infrastructure, particularly in upgraders. Daan Struyven, co-head of global commodities research at Goldman Sachs, added, “It could take until the end of the decade for Venezuela to reach 1.5 million to 2 million barrels per day, and even then, substantial U.S. support will be required.”
The Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech, and Utilities Conference in Miami this week will provide additional insight into the sector’s prospects. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is scheduled to speak Wednesday morning, followed by closed-door remarks from ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance.
The White House’s engagement with oil executives underscores the administration’s focus on quickly leveraging Venezuela’s vast reserves to bolster global supply and reduce domestic energy costs, even as experts caution that rebuilding the nation’s oil industry will be a complex and time-consuming endeavor.
