29/05/2026 by Thomas Clark
Close to two decades after exiting, US oil titan Exxon Mobil is reportedly pursuing negotiations to restore its past oil production efforts in Venezuela.
Sources suggest that talks may involve up to six oil fields based in several different locations around the South American country.
Headquartered in Texas, today Exxon Mobil is recognised as the largest publicly traded global energy company in the world. Its business interests are integrated throughout the entire gas and oil supply chain, and it operates the Mobil lubricant brand. The line supplies cutting-edge products like hydraulic oil, heat transfer fluid, mould release oil and industrial grease, among many others that are formulated with base oil derived from crude.
Exxon Mobil’s fresh pursuit of Venezuelan oil is a notable reversal of its recent stance. Early this year, the company described the country as “un-investable”.
In 2007, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil had assets expropriated after refusing to restructure their Venezuelan holdings to give majority control to Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), Venezuela’s state-owned oil and natural gas company. Founded in 1976 when Venezuela’s oil industry was nationalised, the PDVSA manages the exploration, exporting, production and refining of the nation’s considerable hydrocarbon resources.
Experts state that petroleum reserves in Venezuela rank among the most significant on the planet.
While Exxon Mobil declined to relinquish a controlling interest to PDVSA, many other oil companies agreed and retained minority stakes in their Venezuelan oilfield projects. These included Total, BP and Chevron, the owner of Texaco Lubricants.
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