What happened
ExxonMobil signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA, marking a preliminary step toward a potential return to the country nearly two decades after its assets were expropriated.
The ceremony was presided over by acting President Delcy Rodríguez. According to ExxonMobil’s statement, the agreement contemplates potential upstream opportunities.
ExxonMobil stated that any future investment would require stable policies, clear regulations, strong investment protections, and competitive returns.
Rodríguez welcomed ExxonMobil back and said the memorandum should translate into concrete investments of mutual benefit for both countries. She also asserted that Venezuela now has a solid legal security framework safeguarding American company operations.
Venezuelan Hydrocarbons Minister Paula Henao described the signing as very significant for Venezuela and the United States. She referenced ExxonMobil’s long history in the Orinoco Belt and said the goal is to increase production and recovery factors for heavy and extra-heavy crudes using ExxonMobil’s technology.
ExxonMobil was expelled from Venezuela in 2007 alongside ConocoPhillips during a wave of expropriations ordered by Hugo Chávez. Before those expropriations, ExxonMobil held a 41.67 percent stake in the Cerro Negro project in the Orinoco Belt and a 50 percent interest in the La Ceiba project in the Maracaibo basin.
Bloomberg reported that the agreement represents a step forward for the Trump administration’s efforts to help restore Venezuela’s oil industry following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro in January.
After Maduro’s arrest, the Venezuelan government implemented reforms to hydrocarbon and mining laws, rescinding Chávez-era restrictions and adding new legal safeguards for foreign investors, particularly from the United States.
