According to multiple media reports, US President Trump has arranged a meeting at the White House with 14 of the world's largest oil companies. These companies are expected to enter Venezuela to rebuild its entire oil infrastructure, with an estimated investment of at least $100 billion.
In an interview on Thursday (January 9), Trump stated, "They (the world's top oil companies) will go into the region and rebuild the entire oil infrastructure. They will spend at least $100 billion."
The meeting is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. local time on Friday (3:30 a.m. Beijing time on January 10).
The official announcement has not yet specified which companies will participate in the meeting, but according to sources, the list of attendees is an "all-star lineup" of major U.S. oil companies.
Representatives from Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and other companies are reportedly responding to Trump's call to action in order to fulfill his promise to revitalize Venezuela's struggling oil industry.
Representatives from oil traders, including Vitol Energy, Trafigura, and Repsol, which owns a large oil and gas field in Venezuela, are also expected to attend. Sources also indicate that Reliance Industries of India has received an invitation.
Business concerns
It is understood that Venezuela possesses the world's largest oil reserves, but due to years of neglect, many of its oil pipelines and other infrastructure have been severely damaged. A full restoration would be time-consuming and costly, which has led many companies to be skeptical of the White House's call for reconstruction.
Furthermore, while many companies have expressed interest in investing in Venezuela, large oil companies with extensive experience in South America are hesitant to continue investing in the country due to its instability.
According to a person familiar with the plan, the hesitation of large companies prompted the White House to expand the list of invited businesses.
The person stated, "The White House is expanding its list of contacts with oil and gas companies because those large corporations have no intention of cooperating."
