"They’re playing too cute". Trump threatens to prevent ExxonMobil from entering Venezuela

US President Donald Trump intends to exclude ExxonMobil Corp. from his initiative to involve oil companies in rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry. He told reporters aboard Air Force One as he departed West Palm Beach, Florida.

The US president expressed dissatisfaction with comments made by Exxon CEO Darren Woods during a meeting at the White House, where Woods described present-day Venezuela as "unsuitable for investment."

"I didn’t like Exxon’s response. They’re playing too cute," Trump was quoted as saying by AP.

The American president added that other companies want to invest in Venezuela.

Exxon, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron — the three largest US oil companies — have been the main partners of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA for decades.

The government of late President Hugo Chávez nationalized the industry between 2004 and 2007, and while Chevron entered into cooperation agreements with PDVSA, ConocoPhillips and Exxon left the country and filed major arbitration claims almost immediately.

Venezuela owes more than $13 billion to ConocoPhillips and Exxon for the expropriations, according to court rulings.

At a meeting with representatives of 20 oil companies on Venezuela’s future held at the White House on January 9, Trump said that his administration would decide which companies would be allowed to operate in the South American country.

"You are dealing directly with us. You are not dealing with Venezuela at all. We don’t want you to deal with Venezuela," the US president said.

• On January 9, Trump signed an executive order freezing funds from the sale of Venezuelan oil. The funds are held in accounts of the US Treasury Department.
• US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated that the United States is considering the possibility of a partial lifting of sanctions against Venezuela to facilitate oil exports and support stabilization of the country’s economy.