Quick overview

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The U.S. president reacted angrily to the company’s reluctance to return to the Caribbean nation following Maduro’s downfall.

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering blocking ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela after the oil major’s CEO, Darren Woods, described the South American country as “uninvestable.”

“I didn’t like Exxon’s response,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday as he returned to Washington. “I’m probably going to lean toward keeping Exxon out. I didn’t like their response. They’re trying to be cute.”

During a meeting at the White House on Friday with other oil executives, Woods told Trump that Venezuela would need to change its laws before it could become an attractive investment opportunity.

His remarks dealt a blow to Trump’s push to persuade U.S. oil companies to spend tens of billions of dollars to revive Venezuela’s oil industry.

How Exxon is Responding to Trump

Exxon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the U.S. press, Reuters reported. The company’s shares fell 1.1% in premarket trading on Monday.

“We’ve had our assets seized there twice, so you can imagine that going back in a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we’ve historically seen,” Woods told Trump at the White House on Friday.

Woods said Exxon would need durable investment protections and reforms to Venezuela’s hydrocarbons law. “If you look at the legal, commercial, and regulatory frameworks in place in Venezuela today, it is uninvestable,” he emphasized.

Venezuela confiscated the assets of Exxon and ConocoPhillips in 2007, and Caracas still owes the companies billions of dollars in unresolved arbitration claims.

“We are confident that with this administration and President Trump working hand in hand with the Venezuelan government, those changes can be implemented,” Woods said.

He added that Exxon was prepared to send a technical team to assess the current state of Venezuela’s oil industry and assets.

Since the capture of Nicolás Maduro on Saturday the 3rd, President Trump has been pressuring U.S. oil companies to invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela’s energy sector, pledging to support them with government-provided security assistance.