*

Top oil companies not initially consulted, executives say

*

Trump wants US firms to invest billions, boost Venezuelan

oil

output

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Costs, political uncertainty may hinder progress

*

Meetings with Trump administration now expected, a source

said

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Trump says US may subsidize oil firms to rebuild

infrastructure

(Adds Trump comments and CBS news report of expected Thursday

meeting paragraphs 10-15)

By Jarrett Renshaw and Sheila Dang

WASHINGTON/HOUSTON, Jan 5 (Reuters) - The administration

of President Donald Trump is planning to meet with executives

from U.S. oil companies later this week to discuss boosting

Venezuelan oil production after U.S. forces ousted its leader

Nicolas Maduro, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The meetings are crucial to the ‌administration's hopes of

getting top U.S. oil companies back into the South American

nation after its government, nearly two decades ago, took

control of U.S.-led energy operations there.

The three biggest U.S. oil companies - Exxon Mobil ( XOM ),

ConocoPhillips ( COP ), and Chevron ( CVX ) - have not yet had

any conversations ​with the administration about Maduro's ouster,

according to four oil industry executives familiar with the

matter, contradicting Trump's statements over the weekend that

he had already held meetings with "all" ‍the U.S. oil companies,

both before and since Maduro was seized.

"Nobody in those three companies has had conversations with

the White House about ⁠operating in Venezuela, pre-removal or

post-removal to this ⁠point," one of the sources said on Monday.

The upcoming meetings will be crucial to the

administration's hopes to boost crude oil production and exports

from Venezuela, a former OPEC nation which sits atop the world's

largest reserves and whose barrels ‌can be refined by specially

designed U.S. refineries. Achieving that goal will require years

of work and ​billions of dollars of investment, analysts say.

It is unclear what executives will be attending the upcoming

meetings, and whether oil companies will be attending

individually or collectively.

The White House did not comment on the meetings but said it

believed the U.S. oil industry was ready to move into Venezuela.

"All ⁠of our oil companies are ready and willing to make big

investments in Venezuela that ‍will rebuild their oil

infrastructure, ​which was destroyed by the illegitimate Maduro

regime," said White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers.

Exxon, Chevron ( CVX ) and ConocoPhillips ( COP ) did not immediately

respond to requests for comment.

Trump told NBC News the U.S. may subsidize oil companies to

enable them to rebuild Venezuela's energy infrastructure.

Asked if the administration had briefed any oil

companies ahead of the ‍military operation, Trump said, "No. But

we've been talking to the concept of, 'what if we did it?'"

"The oil companies were absolutely aware that we were

thinking about doing something," Trump told NBC News. "But we

didn't tell them we were going to do it."

He told NBC News it was "too soon" to say whether he had

personally spoken to top executives at the three companies.

"I speak to everybody," he said.

CBS News, citing an unnamed source, said executives from the

three were expected to meet on Thursday with Energy Secretary

Chris Wright.

One oil industry executive told Reuters the companies

would be reluctant to talk about potential Venezuela operations

in group settings with the White House, citing antitrust

concerns that limit collective discussions among competitors

about investment plans, timing and ​production levels.

BIG PLANS, ‍BIG PROBLEMS

U.S. forces on Saturday conducted a lightning raid on

Venezuela's capital, arresting Maduro in the dead of night and

sending him to the United States to face narcoterrorism charges.

Trump said hours after Maduro's capture he expects the

biggest U.S. oil companies to spend billions of dollars boosting

Venezuela's oil production, after it dropped ​to around a third

of its peak over the past two decades due to underinvestment and

sanctions.

But those plans will be hindered by lack of infrastructure,

along with deep uncertainty over the country's political future,

legal framework and long-term U.S. policy, according to industry

analysts.

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

Venezuela's oil fields.

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

in the country before their projects were nationalized by former

President Hugo Chavez.

"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 oil industry executive, who asked not

to be named discussing the issue.

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 barrels per day 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.

Investors were optimistic, betting Washington's move against

Venezuela's leadership would allow U.S. firms access to the oil

reserves. A U.S. embargo on Venezuelan oil remained in full

effect, Trump said.

The S&P 500 energy index rose to ‍its highest since March

2025, with heavyweights Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) rising 2.2% and Chevron ( CVX )

jumping 5.1%.