The Talks Are Real — and Moving Fast

As of late May 2026, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips are both in active negotiations with Venezuela's government under President Delcy Rodríguez to re-enter one of the world's largest oil reserves, according to Bloomberg reporting published May 26, 2026.

According to Bloomberg, an Exxon team physically met with U.S. embassy officials in Caracas and held separate discussions with Venezuelan officials in Houston.

The New York Times reported that Exxon is eyeing contracts to produce oil in up to six fields across multiple Venezuelan regions, with a deal potentially announced as soon as this month.

Four Months Ago, Exxon Called Venezuela "Uninvestable"

In January 2026, Exxon CEO Darren Woods publicly called Venezuela "uninvestable." That word choice wasn't accidental — it was a formal signal to shareholders that the company wasn't touching the place.

Something changed. According to Bloomberg, it changed fast after Maduro's removal and Rodríguez's government showed genuine willingness to negotiate production-sharing agreements and other contract terms.

By earlier this month, Woods was telling a different story entirely — saying Exxon is now studying how to apply its Canadian heavy oil expertise to Venezuela's crude, which has similar high-viscosity properties.

That's a 180-degree turn in under five months.

What Exxon and ConocoPhillips Actually Want

Both companies are pushing for two things that go beyond a standard drilling contract.

First, they want durable contract terms — legal protections sturdy enough to survive the next government, the next sanctions regime, and the next political earthquake. Venezuela has a long history of nationalizing foreign assets the moment they become valuable. Exxon and ConocoPhillips lived that firsthand when Hugo Chávez kicked them out two decades ago.

Second, they want resolution of billions of dollars in outstanding debt owed to them from those nationalizations. Bloomberg confirmed both companies are pushing this as part of the current negotiations. The NYT's framing of this as a clean "victory for Trump" overlooks this complication.

No contract. No debt resolution. No deal.

Chevron Is Already Winning — and Everyone Else Knows It

While Exxon and ConocoPhillips spent the last two decades in legal battles and public feuds with Caracas, Chevron stayed.

Chevron kept its operations running through Chávez's nationalizations, through U.S. sanctions, through the Maduro years. It never left. And now, with oil prices at current market levels, Chevron is positioned to scale up production immediately while its competitors are still in the negotiating room.

Exxon and ConocoPhillips are playing catch-up.

What Mainstream Coverage Is Getting Wrong

The NYT frames this as a "victory for Trump" and focuses heavily on the political optics. Trump did push hard for American business access to Venezuelan oil after Maduro's removal, but the reporting buries the operational and legal complexity.

The WSJ correctly notes that "plenty of hurdles remain" but doesn't detail what those hurdles actually are.

Neither outlet gives adequate weight to the debt repayment question. These companies were robbed — legally speaking — of billions in assets. Walking back into Venezuela without settling that score isn't pragmatism; it sets a precedent that every resource-nationalist government on earth will notice. It signals that America's oil majors can be expropriated without consequence.

Also underreported: the Rodríguez government is negotiating, but it is NOT a democratically elected government. Trump installed Maduro's own vice president to manage this transition. That matters when assessing the durability of any contract signed with Caracas.

The Numbers That Matter

Venezuela holds some of the largest proven oil reserves on the planet. The potential upside for U.S. companies is enormous — and so is the potential downside if contracts fall apart or a new government tears them up in five years.

Exxon is looking at up to six production fields. The specific revenue projections haven't been disclosed publicly.

ConocoPhillips' specific field targets have not been publicly detailed as of this reporting.

What This Means for Regular People

If these deals close and production actually ramps up, more Venezuelan oil hitting global markets could put modest downward pressure on crude prices — which eventually shows up at the gas pump.

But that outcome depends on developments that haven't happened yet.

The legal scaffolding isn't built. The debt isn't resolved. The government signing the contracts is unelected. And Chevron already has a head start measured in years, not months.

This is a story about what might happen — not what has.