President Donald Trump eyes benching ExxonMobil from lucrative Venezuela oil revival talks after CEO Darren Woods branded the oil-rich chaos "uninvestable" amid asset seizures and $20 billion Chávez-era debts, slamming the door on hasty re-entry despite White House huddles with U.S. oil titans. Trump, fresh off Nicolás Maduro's capture and vows to seize 30-50 million barrels for U.S. refineries, fumed at Woods' Friday pushback – "I'd probably be inclined to keep Exxon out... They're playing too cute" – aboard Air Force One, hellbent on "running" Caracas' crude bonanza sans corporate foot-dragging. Chevron's Mark Nelson dangled 50% output hikes in phase one, Conoco's Ryan Lance pitched PDVSA overhauls, but Exxon's chill sparked Trump's cold shoulder as Eni-Repsol and privates like Hilcorp eye billions in rebuilds.gazettengr+2
Post-coup blueprints demand $100B+ to triple Venezuela's dilapidated 1M bpd from Orinoco depths – Gulf Coast heavies like Valero-Marathon primed for heavy sour grades, Trump plotting external escrow splits funding Naija-like Gulf ties while dodging militia risks and crude price dips. Woods' nod to quick tech scouts clashes with "significant changes" mandates on legal shields and commercial frames, echoing Big Oil's reality check after decades of Hugo handouts turned nationalizations. Trump's "speed and quality" mantra shrugs past write-offs, betting clean-slate lures sans Exxon to pump pump prices and U.S. leverage.fortune+1
Naija watches enviously as Lagos dreams OPEC plays, but Venezuela's militia shadows and hyperinflation ghosts haunt the grab – Trump wields Maduro's fall like a dealmaker's ace. Exxon sulks, rivals swarm, Caracas crude calls. Oil wars reboot.