Exxon Mobil (XOM) expects to send a technical team to Venezuela in a few weeks after working through logistical and security arrangements, and the company could be “interested in going back” if the right investment terms are in place, Senior VP Jack Williams said Tuesday, Reuters reported.
“We know the resource pretty well. We had a very successful operation there,” Williams told the Morgan Stanley Energy & Power Conference in New York, referring to the company’s 2007 expropriation of its assets in the country.
Exxon (XOM) has improved its technology for working with heavy oil resources over the years since leaving Venezuela, “so I think we can do even better than we were before, in terms of the technology toolkit that we can bring,” Williams said.
The company’s vast scale and geographical footprint provide a buffer against any operational disruptions from the conflict in the Middle East, the executive also said, according to Argus.
“We have assets all over the world. We have upstream, downstream, we have a big trading operation, we operate a large long-term charter fleet, so we can move feed and we can move products around the world to optimize around this situation,” Williams said, adding that oil and LNG markets are “very well supplied,” providing some support.
Exxon (XOM) has the most exposure among the oil majors to Qatar’s suspension of liquefied natural gas exports, RBC analyst Biraj Borkhataria said Tuesday in a note.