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Venezuela oil comeback lags for major U.S. producers after Maduro removal
Over half a year after the U.S. helped remove Nicolas Maduro, Chevron continues exporting to the U.S., while ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have not resumed operations, as PDVSA negotiations move more slowly than expected.
OilPrice reports that more than half a year after the U.S. captured and extracted Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela, the largest American oil firms have not fully returned to operating oilfields in the country, which holds some of the world’s largest oil reserves.
Chevron is still extracting and exporting oil to the U.S., but ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have yet to return. The outlet attributes the slow pace to negotiations led by Venezuela’s state oil firm PDVSA that are not progressing as fast as the U.S. administration anticipated when it removed Maduro earlier this year.
OilPrice also notes that some deals have been signed more recently, including with service providers and smaller U.S. companies that appear more willing to take the risks of operating in Venezuela amid an unstable political and fiscal environment.
The article says Venezuela signed deals earlier this month with oilfield services company SLB and Hunt Oil Co., as part of efforts to boost investment in its energy industry, according to Venezuela’s oil minister Paula Henao. It adds that the SLB agreement follows reports of a long term deal aimed at reversing a major decline in oil production and modernizing Venezuela’s oil industry.