Overview
- President Trump said the U.S. will temporarily run Venezuela and invite major American oil companies to repair and expand production.
- Venezuela holds roughly 300 billion barrels of mostly heavy crude, yet output is about 1 million barrels a day after years of mismanagement and sanctions.
- Chevron remains the only U.S. major operating under licenses; ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips hold unpaid arbitration awards and have not committed to return.
- Analysts say restoring capacity will demand large-scale infrastructure repairs, security guarantees, sanctions relief and updated laws before significant investment flows.
- With a U.S. embargo and tanker disruptions still constraining exports, near-term market effects look limited as China condemns the operation and legal questions persist.