Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) offered insights into their perspectives about Venezuela during earnings conference calls on Friday, even as neither company announced long-term investment commitments despite President Trump’s push to convince U.S. oil companies to pump $100B into the country’s energy sector.
Exxon (XOM) CEO Darren Woods touted his company’s technological capability to potentially extract Venezuela’s expensive heavy crude for a lower cost, while Chevron (CVX) CEO Mike Wirth said his company would process more Venezuelan crude through its refineries in the U.S., and both bosses said they wanted to see strong legal frameworks and a stable political environment before making decisions about long-term projects.
Woods, who called Venezuela “uninvestable” at a White House meeting earlier this month, said he believes the Trump administration is working to stabilize the country, boost its economy and transition into a democratic government, and said Exxon (XOM) offers technological capabilities to pump Venezuela’s heavy crude, because it produces similar crude in Canada.
“We think we bring an advantaged approach that will lead to lower-cost production [and] higher recovery, Woods said on Exxon’s (XOM) earnings call. “That’s the opportunity set for us that will play out, maybe over time,” adding that the company still plans to send a technical team to assess the situation in Venezuela.
Chevron (CVX) could increase Venezuelan heavy crude flows in its U.S. refining system, but that it is too early to determine the company’s long-term outlook on the country, CEO Mike Wirth said on his company’s earnings call, noting the company currently processes ~50K bbl/day at its Pascagoula refinery in Mississippi and could run an additional 100K bbl/day across its Gulf Coast refineries and on the West Coast at El Segundo in California.
“There will be a number of signposts that we’ll be watching,” Wirth said. “It will have to compete in our portfolio versus attractive investments in many other parts of the world. With the right changes, we certainly could see our operations in the footprint expand in Venezuela.”
Exxon (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) both reported their smallest annual profits since 2021, pressured by a growing glut of crude that has weighed on prices.