The Trump administration has been quietly facilitating the talks, which are expected to yield several non-binding memorandums of understanding. While these documents would not immediately boost the country’s flagging oil output, they could lay the legal and commercial groundwork for additional crude exports in the coming years. The agreements also represent a tentative step toward coaxing international oil companies back into a country where the government nationalized foreign assets more than a decade ago, a move that has left many firms wary of operating there.
Beyond oil, officials in Caracas plan to unveil memorandums tied to gold, aluminum and possibly coal projects, according to an industry official familiar with the administration’s plan. Those agreements are expected to focus on existing mines and would likely require offtake agreements that send the materials back to the United States, the official said.
Leading the delegation is Jarrod Agen, executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council, along with other council members. They will be joined by executives from a mix of American and European firms, including Dallas-based private oil company Hunt Oil, European majors Repsol and Eni, Venezuela’s state-owned petrochemical company Petroquímica de Venezuela, U.S. oilfield services giant Halliburton and several trading companies, the three people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss planning that has not been made public.
Spokespeople for Hunt Oil, Eni and Halliburton did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Representatives for Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA and Petroquímica could not be reached.
Shifting strategy on Venezuela
A White House spokesperson confirmed that the administration had organized the trip with the companies for Thursday, adding that “thanks to President Trump’s bold leadership,” the United States is pursuing new energy partnerships. The visit signals a shift in approach from the earlier reluctance among many foreign firms to engage with a regime that seized their assets. For the administration, the talks are part of a broader effort to ease bottlenecks in global commodity markets and secure new sources of supply for American industry.
The meetings in Caracas are expected to last several days, with the goal of finalizing the framework for future investment. While the memorandums are not legally binding, they represent the most concrete step yet by the Trump administration to reengage Venezuela’s energy sector, a move that could reshape the geopolitical dynamics of oil production in Latin America.
