Exxon Mobil Nears Oil Production Deal in Venezuela After Nearly Two Decades

XOM Exxon Mobil is in advanced talks to resume oil production in Venezuela after nearly two decades away, marking a dramatic reversal of the company's exit during the Chavez-era nationalizations. The negotiations come amid a broader thaw in US-Venezuela relations and the prospect of partial sanctions relief tied to the country's heavy crude reserves.

Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves, but production has collapsed to roughly a quarter of its 1990s peak owing to chronic underinvestment, sanctions, and operational decay at state-owned PDVSA. A Western major's return could unlock meaningful incremental supply over the next 3-5 years if licenses, security, and contract terms are structured durably.

Risks remain substantial. Any deal would face US Treasury OFAC scrutiny, contract-sanctity questions given Venezuela's track record of expropriations, and political volatility that has previously upended foreign-operator economics. Investors will watch whether competitors including CVX Chevron and European majors follow suit, which would signal that the door has genuinely reopened.

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