ExxonMobil Venezuela Deal: What It Signed With PDVSA
ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company, signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA to explore upstream oil opportunities, announced Monday, November 9, 2026, nearly two decades after Hugo Chávez’s government expropriated its assets, according to Reuters. Exxon did not say which projects or areas it is evaluating. To take part in production it would need a final contract, either a joint venture or a production-sharing agreement. Exxon has no producing oil operations in Venezuela today, so the memorandum adds no barrels to Venezuelan exports for now. Data as of November 10, 2026.
What is known
- What was signed: a memorandum of understanding between ExxonMobil and PDVSA. It is non-binding and covers exploration and production opportunities, per Reuters. The New York Times describes it as a preliminary deal that moves Exxon closer to operating in the country again (Political Wire).
- What Exxon said: in its statement it called the memorandum “a meaningful first step, but any future investment would require stable policies, clear regulations”. The company also said any investment would need strong investment protections and competitive returns, per Reuters.
- Why it is news: Exxon’s leadership had described Venezuela as uninvestable in January 2026 (The Motley Fool; the piece does not name the executive), and Reuters frames a return as a win for President Donald Trump, who has pushed to reshape Venezuela’s energy sector with U.S. companies in the lead.
- What is missing: the signing date is not specified, and there are no dollar amounts, timelines or fields.
Which fields could Exxon return to?
Exxon has not said. What exists are September reports:
| Source | What it says |
|---|---|
| Reuters, September 16 (in Spanish) | Exxon is evaluating Petromonagas (formerly Cerro Negro, where it held 41.67% until 2007) and areas of the Carabobo block. It sent technical teams this year. PDVSA documents seen by Reuters say the upgrader works but needs major repairs |
| The Motley Fool, September 21 | Citing the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg: Exxon is negotiating investments in several fields, including Petromonagas and Petrovictoria, both in the Orinoco Belt |
Two complications, per Reuters: Russia held 40% of Petromonagas, transferred in 2020 to Roszarubezhneft, and it is not yet known how that would affect a deal. And ConocoPhillips’ talks were stalled until a debt of about $11 billion is paid. More on who operates there today: oil companies in Venezuela.
What does it change for Venezuela’s oil exports?
Nothing measurable in the short term. The reasons:
- Exxon does not produce in Venezuela, and the memorandum includes no volumes or timeline. A final contract would have to come first, and the Petromonagas upgrader needs repairs.
- Today’s export level comes from others. In October 2026, shipments fell 25% to 809,000 barrels a day according to Bloomberg Línea; Reuters, with a wider scope (crude, fuels and other products), counts 1.08 million b/d, nearly unchanged from September. PDVSA says it produces 1.252 million b/d. The figures and why they differ are in our October exports report. Chevron stayed in the country, and The Motley Fool credits it with a considerable head start for that: Chevron in Venezuela.
- As a customer, Exxon has the right refineries. Reuters (January 8, 2026) lists ExxonMobil’s plants at Beaumont (612,000 b/d), Baytown (564,000 b/d) and Baton Rouge (522,500 b/d) among the Gulf Coast refineries ready to run Venezuela’s heavy, sour crude. That article does not describe a current Exxon operation using Venezuelan crude, and I found no confirmed purchase.
A history with unpaid bills
Exxon had a stake in the Cerro Negro and La Ceiba projects when Venezuela nationalized them in 2007. It won international arbitrations over them, but the real figure is far smaller than the headlines:
- Exxon received $907.5 million in 2011 in a separate International Chamber of Commerce arbitration, per Bloomberg.
- In 2017 the World Bank’s ICSID partially annulled an earlier ruling of $1.4 billion, and Exxon resubmitted the claim.
- On July 10, 2023, ICSID awarded it $76.9 million plus a little over $1 million in costs. To collect the full amount it seeks, Exxon would have to return what it already received.
What about Exxon stock (XOM)?
Exxon has given no investment, production or timing figures, so no serious estimate of the effect on its stock is possible yet; any number would be a guess. This page is not investment advice. To see which listed oil companies work in Venezuela and with what data, see our guide to Venezuela oil stocks.
What is not known
- Which fields or areas Exxon is evaluating. The memorandum does not name them.
- How much it would invest and over what period. No amounts or calendar.
- Whether there will be a final contract, and under which structure of the new hydrocarbons law (a joint venture or production sharing, per Reuters).
- What happens to the Russian stake in Petromonagas.
- Whether Exxon will buy Venezuelan crude for its refineries: nothing has been announced.
- How past debts to Exxon will be settled.
Why it matters
If Exxon closes a contract, there would be another major U.S. oil company in the country besides Chevron, and in the Orinoco Belt, which holds the country’s extra-heavy crude. But the memorandum by itself moves neither production nor U.S. gasoline prices: that depends on contracts being signed and facilities repaired. For what could really change for U.S. consumers, with data, see Venezuelan oil and U.S. gas prices, U.S. imports of Venezuelan crude and Venezuela’s oil investment plans.