Offshore oil extraction platform (illustrative image), PHOTO: Shutterstock
The CEO of Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor told Reuters on Wednesday that it has no plans to return to Venezuela, the country from which it permanently withdrew earlier this decade.
“At the moment this is not on the table,” director Anders Opedal said on the sidelines of a business conference “We pulled out of Venezuela because we wanted to reallocate capital.”
Equinor, a Norwegian state-owned company, entered Venezuela's oil and gas industry in the mid-1990s, investing billions of dollars in onshore and offshore projects and identifying the country as a core component of its operations, but eventually pulled out after about 25 years.
Although less known to the general public compared to other major oil companies, Equinor is one of the biggest players in the world, with revenues of more than 100 billion dollars in 2024 and total assets of more than 130 billion.
Venezuela's state oil company has taken over Equinor's business in the country
The decision to withdraw from Venezuela came amid several departures of Western oil companies remaining in the South American country, which included French giant TotalEnergies. Equinor and TotalEnergies were some of the few major companies still operating in Venezuela after former President Hugo Chavez ordered a wave of nationalizations in the early 2000s.
Both Equinor's and TotalEnergies' businesses were taken over in 2021 by Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), Venezuela's state oil company.
“Venezuela is now the full owner of one of the most powerful companies in Latin America,” PDVSA said in a statement released at the time.
Chevron is the main Western oil company still operating in Venezuela and produces about a quarter of Venezuela's oil. In the 2000s, when other companies were forced out during former President Chavez's regime, Chevron stayed, believing the situation might eventually improve.
About half of Chevron's production is exported to the United States.
Oil, the “curse” of dictators in Venezuela
Trump announced that Venezuela will cede tens of millions of barrels of oil already extracted to the US
The subject of Venezuela's oil reserves, the largest in the world, has returned to the public eye after the US military operation that ousted President Nicolas Maduro from power and took him to New York to face US justice.
President Donald Trump has spoken several times since then about Venezuela's oil, including in a press conference after Maduro's capture, when he said American companies would be involved in rebuilding the mining infrastructure. “We will send the big American oil companies to invest billions of dollars,” said the US president.
Despite his upbeat comments, most industry analysts say oil companies are reluctant to return to Venezuela because of the South American country's turbulent history and the uncertainties looming over its future after the ouster of Nicolas Maduro.
On Tuesday evening, Trump said that Venezuela will cede between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, which will be sold at market value, and the proceeds will be controlled by the United States.
“Oil will be sold at market price, and this money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure that it is used for the benefit of the people of Venezuela and the United States!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social social network.
