US oil companies warn they will need guarantees to invest in Venezuela [View all]
FT (
Archived)
US oil companies want serious guarantees from Washington before they make splashy investments in Venezuela as President Donald Trump urges them to back his bid to reshape energy markets.
American officials held crunch talks with top energy executives in Miami on Wednesday, just as Trump made a show of raw power over global crude markets, seizing control of Venezuelas oil sector and ordering US special forces to capture a Russian tanker in the north Atlantic.
Trump has also summoned executives from some of the countrys biggest energy groups to a meeting at the White House on Friday.
The executives are expected to press the president on providing strong legal and financial guarantees before they agree to commit capital to Venezuela, according to people familiar with their plans.
Earlier this week Trump said the American oil companies could be reimbursed by us, or through revenue if they invested in Venezuela. But executives remained cautious, with some citing the erratic policymaking.
No one wants to go in there when a random fucking tweet can change the entire foreign policy of the country, said one private equity investor who specialises in energy.