Exxon 'going in' to Venezuela, Trump says in touting oil deals

On Monday (Aug 31), US President Donald Trump stated that it is up to Venezuela to determine if the country should withdraw from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), of which Venezuela has been a member for over 60 years. Trump made this remark following a Bloomberg report which suggested that Venezuela was contemplating the potential departure from the organization, less than a month after the United Arab Emirates announced its withdrawal.

Washington has closely monitored Venezuela's oil industry since US forces apprehended then-President Nicolas Maduro in January. Following this, both nations signed a significant oil supply agreement involving major trading firms, which has enabled an increase in Venezuela's crude exports to the US. On Friday, Trump unveiled an even more substantial deal, securing 17 major oilfields in Venezuela, containing around 64 billion barrels of proven crude reserves, which could potentially supply up to 1.5 million barrels per day to the US.

The US energy giants ExxonMobil and Chevron were reportedly committed to investing in these Venezuelan oil reserves, though the president did not provide further details.