Darren Woods, chairman and chief government officer Exxon Mobil Corp., throughout a gathering with oil executives within the East Room of the White Home in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.
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U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to sideline Exxon Mobil from Venezuela’s vitality market, saying he did not like their response to his calls for oil corporations to rapidly re-enter the South American nation.
“I did not like Exxon’s response. You recognize we now have so many who need it. I might in all probability be inclined to maintain Exxon out,” Trump informed reporters on board Air Drive One on Sunday.
“They’re enjoying too cute,” he added.
His feedback come shortly after Exxon CEO Darren Woods made headlines for saying at a White Home assembly with Trump that the Venezuelan market is “uninvestable” in its present state.
An Exxon spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Shares have been final seen 1.1% decrease in premarket commerce on Monday.
Talking alongside a number of different American oil executives on Friday, Woods stated Exxon would wish to see “some fairly vital modifications” if it was to re-enter the nation for a 3rd time.
Venezuela seized Exxon’s and ConocoPhillips‘s belongings in 2007, and Caracas owes the businesses billions of {dollars} in excellent claims from arbitration circumstances.
Woods stated the corporate would wish to see modifications to business frameworks, the authorized system and hydrocarbon legal guidelines, alongside what he described as “sturdy” funding protections.
“We’re assured that with this administration and President Trump working hand‑in‑hand with the Venezuelan authorities that these modifications may be put in place,” Woods stated.
He added that Exxon was ready to ship a technical crew to judge the present state of Venezuela’s oil business and belongings.
$100 billion push
Trump has been pushing for U.S. oil corporations to speculate no less than $100 billion in Venezuela’s vitality sector, pledging to help them with authorities safety help.
The decision follows an audacious U.S. navy operation in Venezuela on Jan. 3 to depose Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores.
U.S. President Donald Trump takes questions from the members of the press aboard Air Drive One on January 11, 2026 en route again to the White Home from Palm Seashore, Florida.
Samuel Corum | Getty Photographs Information | Getty Photographs
Requested by a reporter for readability on the kind of backstops and safety ensures that may be supplied to grease corporations, Trump didn’t present particular particulars.
“We’re going to have ensures,” Trump stated. “That they had issues up to now as a result of they didnt have Trump as a president,” he added.
U.S. oil corporations acknowledged that Venezuela, which boasts the world’s largest oil reserves, represents an intriguing alternative however some have expressed warning about speeding in to re-enter.
Chevron is presently the one main American oil agency nonetheless working in Venezuela.
— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this report.
