Exxon CEO calls Venezuela 'uninvestable' without 'significant changes' [View all]

Source: Washington Post

January 9, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. EST


As President Donald Trump pushed U.S. oil companies to commit to invest $100 billion in Venezuela at a White House meeting on Friday, the CEO of ExxonMobil warned the company is far from enlisting.

CEO Darren Woods said that Venezuela is "uninvestable” after Trump asked him how long it would take the firm to restart operations there. He added that “significant changes have to be made to those commercial frameworks, the legal system, there has to be durable investment protections,” and there needs to be a rewrite of the laws governing oil production in Venezuela.

He would only commit to sending a technical team to the country shortly to begin assessing the situation. The exchange underscored how the industry is struggling to chart a course that will please the president without spending recklessly on risky drilling ventures.

The afternoon meeting was attended by several major oil companies in addition to Exxon, including Chevron, ConocoPhilips and Shell. Chevron is the only U.S. firm operational in Venezuela. Trump vowed the companies that commit to pumping in Venezuela will make substantial profits, but the firms, aware of the extremely challenging economics and security concerns around drilling in the unstable Latin American nation, are reticent to commit.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/01/09/trump-oil-executives-venezuela-exxon/