'Seven months after the U.S. https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/inside-operation-absolute-resolve-the-u-s-incursion-that-deposed-venezuelas-maduro-fa812617?mod=article_inline Nicolás Maduro, Big Oil has yet to make any big moves in https://www.wsj.com/topics/place/venezuela.

https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/XOM,https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/CVX https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/CVX

and other major oil companies are fighting for a small number of the country’s most attractive drilling spots, but some of the talks with Venezuelan leaders recently hit an impasse, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

President Trump and his lieutenants https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/trump-presses-oil-executives-to-invest-in-venezuelabut-gets-lukewarm-reception-6e4efd78?mod=article_inline that big U.S. oil companies would quickly sign investment deals to kick-start production in Venezuela, home to some of the world’s largest reserves. They see the country’s rising oil exports as a boon to U.S. supplies while Iran https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-rejects-omani-proposal-to-share-strait-of-hormuz-demands-more-control-20ec9e92?mod=article_inline in the Middle East that typically carry 20% of the world’s oil and gas.

The administration is also https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/the-u-s-saw-an-investment-boom-in-venezuela-now-its-a-37-billion-problem-e56434ca?mod=article_inline on interim President Delcy Rodriguez to boost Venezuela’s production quickly—before the end of Trump’s second term. 

Among the issues that have handicapped any big deals: Major U.S. oil producers are interested in many of the same prized assets, including fields in eastern Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt and the northeastern state of Monagas—and they want to secure the most favorable fiscal and regulatory terms possible. The https://www.wsj.com/world/americas/the-science-behind-venezuelas-doublet-earthquake-6246baea?mod=article_inline that shook the country last month also slowed the progress.

“Few of them are really jumping into the water,” said José Ignacio Hernández, a law professor and consultant at advisory firm Aurora Macro Strategies. “It’s like when you’re trying to sell your house. You have a very successful open house with 100 people attending, but then nobody calls.”

The negotiations are largely being led by state-run Petróleos de Venezuela, which is holding separate meetings with companies and making private offerings. Some of the American companies, which are more accustomed to public bidding processes, have requested U.S. officials intervene. So far, the administration has let the process play out without choosing any winners.'

WSJ