Oil giant Chevron is confirming that it will expand its operations in Venezuela, just days after President Donald Trump announced an ambitious deal to develop the nation’s oil reserves and give the Pentagon a stake in the profits.
Chevron said Wednesday that it has been assigned additional acreage in the Orinoco Belt, where the company has an established position. Joint venture plans include investing more than $7 billion over the next five years, more than doubling production to approximately 600,000 barrels a day compared to 2026.
8 Comments
SheepHerder@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 1d
And how is Trump any different from other Imperial dictators?
atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 1d
I mean, the main difference here is he’s a president doing it to people outside the United States publicly rather than just letting the CIA do it and only messing with Native Americans publicly or something.
bedwyr@piefed.ca · 1 pts · 1d
He is older and dumber and perhaps even meaner than most for starters.
rayyy@piefed.social · 4 pts · 16h
Didn't oil companies lose their asses the last time they invested in Venezuela? Bet they are getting money up front from the US this time.
mossberg590@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 16h
Lost theirs twice before. I'm afraid the answer isn't money but the promise of the US military protecting the business interests.
Nautalax@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 1d
I wonder what was promised to Chevron to change their minds. Companies are usually pretty hesitant to throw around billions of dollars into a country that has previously seized similar investments, and the pay-off is a sour crude that is more difficult to refine and not as desired so they can’t command that high of a price. There’s a reason why Exxon-Mobil is quoted in the article as saying that Venezuela is un-investable, despite that pissing off Trump. And one of the other links in the article was saying Venezuela could require more on the order of one hundred billion dollars to get to four million barrels a day (which is roughly the peak production they once enjoyed) so in light of that seven billion while enough to be a giant risk for an individual company it doesn’t come close to rejuvenating the industry for Venezuela either barring wild success on a slim budget.
Maybe it’s like a play for the cameras. Say some words and Trump can throw around his favorite words like deal and billions, cash in on whatever approval that nets you, then quietly curtail much of the money some years down the line when Trump is out of office.
PumpkinSkink@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1d
This is my immediate thought too. I have been under the impression that, after having their infrastructure partially nationalized during the Bolivarian revolution Chevron and the like viewed Venezuelan oil as too risky to invest the absolute shitloads of money they would need to to expand their production beyond where it already is. Maybe Chevron is uniquely positioned for this because of the extent of their preexisting infrastructure, but I'm curious to see if they just slow walk the deal until Trumps out, or something?
I certainly think the possibility of Venezuelans throwing a wrench in the plans after anger with the theft of their sovereignty boils over is greater than zero, but, like, who knows what's being said beyond public knowledge. Maybe the bad taste left by Maduro is enough where thats just not a risk? Maybe there's some other assurances we aren't privvy to? Maybe Chevron is just greedy enough to try regardless?
AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 16h
Its to try and quell the masses imo. People hate when gas prices go up but as long as there's "a plan" put forward it will satisfy most people cuz they think something is being done.
Heard we'll completely run out of our oil reserves in like 46 weeks so idk how a 5 year plan is going to address that lol