That oil belongs to the Venezuelan people. It is their oil and their land, not ours. Trump is declaring war, using Vladimir Putin’s rationale for invading Ukraine.
Apparently this bellicose rhetoric is in reference to the nationalizing of the oil fields under Hugo Chavez. How this translates to them “taking our land and our oil” I don’t get. In fact, Chevron is still operating in Venezuela.
I suspect this is just a way to convince Trump to start killing lots of Latinos to give Miller a big thrill up the leg. That’s what he’s always been after.
But the oil companies aren’t so high on this idea:
The Trump administration is asking U.S. oil companies if they’re interested in returning to Venezuela once leader Nicolás Maduro is gone, three people familiar with the discussions told POLITICO.
And so far, the answer is a hard “no.”
The administration’s outreach to the industry, previously unreported, is the latest sign the White House is dreaming of a post-Maduro future for Venezuela — and how the world’s oil markets are both helping and hindering that goal.
The markets, glutted with supply and with prices at nearly five-year lows, are giving President Donald Trump an unusually free hand to tighten military pressure on the South American OPEC member, much the way they largely shrugged off U.S. and Israeli missile strikes on Iran in June. But those prices are also way too low to entice companies to take the risk of pouring huge investments into the crumbling Venezuelan oil facilities that former strongman Hugo Chávez seized decades ago, industry officials and analysts said.
The U.S. benchmark oil price was around $56 a barrel Wednesday afternoon, the lowest since January 2021. That means Trump has only limited reason to worry that an attack on Venezuela would send gasoline prices spiraling upward — but it also means U.S. oil companies have better investment options elsewhere.
It’s likely that the oil companies don’t see any good reason to try to do business in a country that’s going to be sabotaging its efforts at every turn. They understand even if Trump and his henchmen don’t that people are unlikely to be thrilled that the U.S. has invaded their country, talking about taking their oil and land and killing their people. It tends to be upsetting. .
Chevron spokesperson Bill Turenne directed all questions about the security situation in Venezuela to the appropriate authorities in the U.S. government. Chevron has been the sole major oil company to continue working in Venezuela, operating under a special license to produce oil in the country and export it to the United States.
“Chevron has operated in Venezuela for over a century, and we believe our presence continues to be a stabilizing force for the local economy, the region and U.S. energy security,” Turenne said in a statement. “Chevron’s operations in Venezuela continue in full compliance with laws and regulations applicable to its business, as well as the sanctions frameworks provided for by the U.S. government. Our top priority is the safety of our personnel, the communities in which we operate, the environment and the integrity of our joint venture assets.”
We’ll soon see whether he has the brass to actually do this. I suspect he will. It’s a classic wag the dog scenario in any case and he’s half out of his mind. Stay tuned.
Happy Hollandaise everyone!