Group 1 - President Trump indicated that ExxonMobil may be excluded from future U.S. involvement in Venezuela's oil sector due to dissatisfaction with the company's response to a recent meeting [1] - ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods stated that Venezuela is currently "uninvestable" due to weak legal protections and past asset seizures, requiring significant changes to hydrocarbon laws before considering reentry [2][5] - Woods emphasized the need for durable legal and investment protections and an invitation from the Venezuelan government for ExxonMobil to commit to investments [5] Group 2 - ExxonMobil has a long history in Venezuela, having first entered the market in the 1940s and withdrawing in 2007 following nationalization efforts by Hugo Chávez's government [6][8] - Trump inquired about the speed of ExxonMobil's potential reentry, to which Woods responded that the company could begin assessments almost immediately if a deal were reached [9]
Trump may keep ExxonMobil out of Venezuela after CEO comments: 'I didn't like their response'