Chevron in Advanced Talks to Expand Venezuela Oil Operations

Any new investment by Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company and the only one with a major presence in Venezuela, would bolster the country's efforts to revitalize its ailing oil industry and struggling economy. Such a deal would also be a significant win for the Trump administration, which has been pushing American companies to play a bigger role in Venezuela's energy industry after U.S. forces seized the country's leader, Nicolás Maduro, in January. Chevron's negotiations over new investments in Venezuela were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.

Several other U.S. oil companies have also been pursuing opportunities in the South American country, though much of what has come to fruition so far this year has been preliminary or relatively small. Talks could still fall apart. But Chevron's effort to beef up its presence in Venezuela builds on a wager the company made two decades ago to remain in that country after its government changed the terms under which foreign oil companies could operate.

Several other U.S. oil companies, including Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips, refused to agree to the new terms and left Venezuela. The article was written by Rebecca F. Elliott, Simon Romero, Anatoly Kurmanaev and Lisa Friedman.