ExxonMobil and PDVSA Sign Nonbinding Venezuela Oil Memorandum

ExxonMobil and Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, signed a nonbinding memorandum on November 9 to evaluate potential oil production opportunities, a preliminary step that does not commit the U.S. company to invest or restart production.

ExxonMobil said the memorandum covers potential upstream opportunities. The company has not disclosed which fields or regions it will assess, an investment amount, a schedule or a production target. The text of the memorandum has not been published.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the agreement covers producing fields and undeveloped areas. She expressed hope that it would lead to concrete investment agreements. ExxonMobil Upstream President Dan Ammann attended the signing in Caracas.

ExxonMobil said any future investment would require stable policies, clear regulations, strong investment protections and competitive returns. The company described the memorandum as a first step, while emphasizing that further changes to operating conditions would be needed before it could invest.

The agreement follows years of strained relations. ExxonMobil left Venezuela in 2007 after the government of then-President Hugo Chávez nationalized oil projects...