'It's uninvestable': ExxonMobil CEO punctures Trump's Venezuela pitch to oil executives

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods gave the starkest and most realistic assessment of US President Donald Trump's promise to revive Venezuela's oil industry in a White House meeting on Friday. Woods told President Trump that the Latin American country is "uninvestable" at present. 

The ExxonMobil CEO said that Venezuela's unstable legal system, lack of investment protections, and outdated hydrocarbon laws render it unviable for American oil companies without substantial reforms. 

Woods said, "If you look at the commercial constructs, frameworks in place in Venezuela today, it's uninvestable. Significant changes have to be made to these frameworks, the legal system. There has to be durable investment protections and change to the hydrocarbon laws." 

He said that ExxonMobil first entered Venezuela in the 1940s and has had its assets seized twice. "And so you can imagine, to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we're historically seen here and what is currently the state.

Despite this, Woods said that he is confident the US can help make the required changes.

He added that he expected Exxon to put a technical team on the ground in Venezuela to assess the state of its oil infrastructure soon. Darren Woods said that companies would need to assess the potential for returns carefully before making any investment commitments. 

"The questions will ultimately be, how durable are the protections from a financial standpoint? What do the returns look like? What are the commercial arrangements, the legal frameworks?" the ExxonMobil CEO said. 

He added that all those things have to be put in place before making a decision on investments in Venezuela. 

Before the executives shared their two cents, Trump claimed that oil executives are lining up in beehives to take up the opportunity. 

“If you don’t want to go in, just let me know,” he said. “There are 25 people not here today willing to take your place.” He also dismissed reports suggesting the administration may offer financial guarantees to back up a risky investment. 

“I hope I don’t have to give a backstop,” the POTUS said. “These are the biggest companies in the world sitting around this table — they know the risks.”

During the meeting, Donald Trump said that the companies investing in Venezuela would be assured "total safety, total security" without the US government spending taxpayer dollars or putting military on the ground.

Trump indicated that Venezuela would provide security for American companies and that the companies would bring their own protection as well.