Shares of major American oil companies surged in early trading on Monday after President Donald Trump said he intends to send U.S. oil companies into Venezuela to “fix” its infrastructure and tap into its rich oil reserves, days after the U.S. military captured and ousted the country’s President Nicolás Maduro.
In premarket trading early on Monday morning, Exxon Mobil rose 3.3% to $126.71, after rising nearly 2% on Friday.
Conoco Phillips shares rose 8.7% before settling at $103.84, up almost 7.4% up from Friday’s closing.
Chevron’s shares saw the biggest bump, briefly soaring more than 10%, before settling at $168, up 7.8% from Friday. Unlike its rivals, Chevron is the only major U.S. firm that is permitted to pump and export oil from Venezuela.
While speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump said the U.S. was “in charge” of Venezuela and is prepared to carry out another strike if the interim government does not behave.
Trump added that, “We need total access…access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country.”
The president then said that his administration will: “have the big oil companies go in and they’re going to fix the infrastructure and they’re going to invest money,” while noting that the U.S. government itself won’t spend any money. When asked if any oil companies had shown interest in this plan, Trump said, “All of them basically. They want to go in so badly.”
While the president has talked about U.S. oil companies entering Venezuela and making significant investments in infrastructure and oil production, the companies have issued only a few muted statements.
Over the weekend, Chevron told several outlets that it “remains focused on the safety and well-being of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets. We continue to operate in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.
Conoco Phillips told Reuters that it is “monitoring developments” in Venezuela and added: “ It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments.”
Source: Forbes
