Trump accuses Venezuela of seizing U.S. oil assets

Washington.- U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Venezuela of unlawfully taking assets from U.S. oil companies following the nationalization of the country’s oil industry in 1976 and the renegotiation of foreign contracts in 2007. According to Trump, these actions caused significant losses to American investors and remain unresolved.

At the time of nationalization, 22 foreign oil companies controlled nearly 70% of Venezuela’s oil sector, then valued at about US$5 billion. In 1977, those companies received approximately US$1 billion in compensation. Decades later, during the presidency of Hugo Chávez, Venezuela imposed new contract terms. While Chevron accepted the revised agreements, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips rejected them and pursued international arbitration, seeking up to US$40 billion in compensation.

The disputes were settled at the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which awarded US$1.6 billion to ExxonMobil and US$8.7 billion to ConocoPhillips. Oil revenues remain central to Venezuela’s economy, accounting for about 88% of exports, estimated at US$24 billion. However, prolonged mismanagement, corruption and the impact of U.S. sanctions have sharply reduced oil production, intensifying the country’s economic collapse and limiting its ability to pay outstanding compensation.