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Top oil companies not consulted about Venezuela, sources

say

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Trump wants US companies to boost Venezuelan oil output

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Costs, political uncertainty may hinder investment

By Jarrett Renshaw and Sheila Dang

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) -

The Trump administration did not initially consult with oil

companies Exxon Mobil ( XOM ), ConocoPhillips ( COP ), or

Chevron Corp ( CVX ) about Venezuela before or ‌after U.S. forces

captured the country's president Nicolas Maduro, according to

four oil industry executives familiar with the matter, but

meetings are now planned for later this ​week.

President Donald Trump asserted aboard Air Force One on

Sunday that he had spoken to all of the ‍U.S. oil companies

"before and after" Maduro's capture about his plans for

investing in ⁠the country.

U.S. oil executives are ⁠expected to meet with the Trump

administration this week, one of the sources said.

"Nobody in those three companies has had conversations with the

White House ‌about operating in Venezuela, pre-removal or

post-removal to this point," ​the source said on Monday.

The early and conflicting accounts demonstrate how it will

likely be an uphill battle to revitalize Venezuela's oil

industry. While Trump has said that American oil firms are

prepared ⁠to invest billions of dollars in the country, ‍only

Exxon, ConocoPhillips ( COP ) and ​Chevron have the scale and capacity to

operate its complex oil fields, the source said.

The three other sources also said the three companies had no

prior knowledge about the U.S. operation to seize ‍Maduro, and

had held no conversations with the Trump administration about

investing there as of Sunday.

The sources asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of

the matter.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for

comment.

Exxon, Chevron ( CVX ) and ConocoPhillips ( COP ) didn't immediately respond

to requests for comment.

Chevron ( CVX ) is the only American major currently operating in

Venezuela's oil fields that produce heavy crude used by U.S.

Gulf Coast and other refineries.

Exxon and ConocoPhillips ( COP ), meanwhile, had storied ​histories in

the ‍country before their projects were nationalized nearly two

decades ago by former President Hugo Chavez.

Trump said hours after Maduro's capture on Saturday that he

expects the biggest U.S. oil companies to spend billions ​of

dollars boosting Venezuela's oil production.

But those plans will be hindered by lack of infrastructure

that will require many years and heavy investment, along with

deep uncertainty over the country's political future, legal

framework and long-term U.S. policy, the executive said.

"I don't think you're going to see any company other than

Chevron ( CVX ), who's already there, you know, commit to developing

this resource," said one of the executives.

Conoco has been seeking billions of dollars in restitution

for the takeover of three oil projects in Venezuela under

Chavez. Exxon was ​involved in lengthy arbitration cases against

Venezuela after it exited the country in 2007.

Chevron ( CVX ), which exports around 150,000 bpd of crude from

Venezuela to the U.S. Gulf Coast, meanwhile, has had to

carefully maneuver with the Trump administration in an effort to

maintain its presence in the country ‍in recent years.