President Donald Trump is courting Big Oil on a risky overseas energy play as Energy Secretary Chris Wright quietly tests industry appetite for a massive Venezuela revival.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright “plans to talk this week with oil-industry executives about reviving Venezuela’s energy sector following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro,” according to Bloomberg. Conversations will be anchored around the Goldman Sachs Energy, Clean Tech & Utilities Conference in Miami.
Investing.com and Yahoo Finance both reported that executives from Chevron and ConocoPhillips are on the attendee list, with Chevron currently the only oil supermajor still operating in Venezuela.
Now that Washington is trying to turn the country’s vast reserves into a functioning, U.S.-aligned production base, Wright’s mission is to explore “rebuilding Venezuela’s energy sector,” said World Oil, summarizing Bloomberg’s scoop.
It’s a quiet, closed-door contrast to the president’s public comments on Air Force One and in TV interviews, where he has boasted that American companies will “rebuild” Venezuela’s oil industry after Maduro’s removal.
If you own energy names or just broad S&P 500 exposure, Wright’s huddle in Miami is where President Trump’s big talk could turn into actual capital commitments that matter for your portfolio.
What Wright is asking Big Oil to do
The pitch is simple to say and hard to execute: put shareholder money to work rebuilding a broken national oil system in a country that previously burned foreign investors.
President Trump is “banking that U.S. oil companies will step in to revive production in Venezuela after years of corruption, underinvestment, and neglect have ravaged output,” Bloomberg reported, adding that Wright’s meetings are the first step in lining up those companies.
Investing.com also notes that the president has “pledged to rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry,” acknowledged it could cost “billions of dollars,” and conceded that it is not clear “how willing foreign companies will be to undertake such a challenging investment.”
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In an NBC interview recapped by Fortune, President Trump floated the possibility that the U.S. could reimburse or subsidize some of the costs of rebuilding, an admission that he knows the numbers do not easily clear normal hurdle rates.
The president told NBC that “the U.S. may subsidize oil companies to enable them to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure,” added Dawn, citing U.S. officials. This suggests Wright can offer some political sweeteners, but not outright guarantees.
Oil companies pushed back on President Trump’s claim that he had spoken to “all” of them before the raid, Newsweek reported, highlighting that the administration now plans to “convene executives” with Wright to talk about terms to “revitalise Venezuela’s energy sector” after Maduro’s capture.
That meeting is exactly what is happening in Miami this week.
The oil industry is understandably hesitant regarding Venezuela.
Vargas/Getty Images
Why the oil industry is cautious about Venezuela
When you dig into what executives and analysts are saying, the appetite to chase this risky overseas play looks much weaker than the White House suggests.
Sources inside the industry believe “U.S. oil executives are unlikely to venture into Venezuela” quickly, CNN reported, citing the unstable environment, a “shambles” of an oil sector, and a record of expropriations by previous governments.
One industry insider told CNN, “The willingness to invest in Venezuela at this moment is quite minimal. We are uncertain about the future of the government there,” adding that “the president’s aspirations differ from those of the industry.”
Related: Top energy stocks to buy amid Venezuela chaos
Rebuilding Venezuela’s infrastructure will likely require about $10 billion per year of investment over the next decade, even before factoring in security and political risk, said World Oil, citing experts.
Ramping up production will take “truly massive investments which would need to be borne entirely by private oil investors,” along with legal reform, improved governance, and better environmental and safety standards, added Luisa Palacios of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, according to EnergyConnects.
Producers “are apt to move cautiously,” Argus said, and they insist on stable government, rule of law, and confidence that Washington will support their presence even after President Trump leaves office.
The investment math behind the play
For you as a retail investor, the bigger story is not just geopolitics. It is how this risky overseas energy play competes with other uses of your companies’ cash.
Bloomberg estimated Trump’s broader Venezuela revival plan as a potential $100 billion gamble spread over roughly a decade, with about $10 billion a year needed to restore production and infrastructure.
Regime change in Venezuela is “one of the largest upside risks to the global oil supply outlook for 2026–2027 and beyond,” JPMorgan’s commodities team, quoted by outlets including the Financial Post, has said. Still, that production is likely to rise only gradually from roughly 800,000 barrels per day to about 2.5 million over ten years.
Yahoo Finance cited Price Futures Group analyst Phil Flynn, arguing that if Venezuela becomes a major producer again, “that could lead to sustained lower prices in the long run.” This is good for consumers but caps the upside for producers.
At the same time, Wall Street banks are warning that Venezuelan supply creates long-term price risks, Brecorder’s summary of Reuters coverage said. This is because new barrels could pressure prices if global demand slows.
Investment takeaways on Venezuela:
- Cash goes out up front, in a risky country, under uncertain politics.
- Production and potential payoff come years later, if things go well.
- The end result might be more diversified global supply and fewer price spikes, not a permanent profit bonanza.
If you rely on energy stocks for dividends and buybacks, those are the trade-offs you should keep in mind as Wright talks terms in Miami.
What you should watch as Wright tests the waters of Venezuela oil move
When I look at this moment as a personal finance writer, it feels like the point where President Trump’s high-risk overseas energy play collides with corporate risk management and your retirement money.
On one side, Bloomberg, CNN, and others make it clear that the president sees Venezuela as a chance to extend U.S. influence over the “world’s largest reserves” and turn a dramatic foreign operation into a legacy project.
On the other hand, reporting from Politico and Newsweek shows executives pushing back, asking for stability, contracts, and security before they even think about committing billions.
If you own Chevron, ConocoPhillips, or broad energy ETFs, here is how to stay grounded while Trump courts Big Oil:
- Listen to earnings calls and investor days for concrete guidance on Venezuela. Are they talking “options” and “studies,” or firm multi-year capex numbers?
- Check your exposure. If a single name that might go big in Venezuela represents a large slice of your portfolio, decide how comfortable you are with that political and project risk.
- Match your timeline to the project. Even bullish scenarios see a decade-long buildout, so don’t buy on the assumption that Venezuela will transform cash flows in a couple of quarters.
As the president courts Big Oil and Chris Wright quietly explores a post‑sanctions rebuild, your role isn’t to arbitrate foreign policy but to manage risk.
The real question is how much of this bet you want to own, and for how long.
Related: Trump’s new oil bet lights a fire under Chevron and its rivals
