American oil giant ExxonMobil on verge of returning to Venezuela
ExxonMobil is close to signing a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA to discuss investment opportunities in oil fields, according to the Wall Street Journal. The move could mark the company's return to Venezuela after roughly two decades, and the fields involved are estimated to hold about 50 billion barrels. Talks may stall or extend beyond September, and ExxonMobil has shown particular interest in the PetroVictoria and Petromonagas fields.
Why it matters: This matters for the energy-geopolitics theme because it illustrates US policy steering American oil companies toward Venezuela to revive output and redirect exports to US refineries.