Oil prices ticked up during Monday’s Asian trading after United States President Donald Trump urged the major oil companies to spend billions in Venezuela.
Brent crude prices were up 0.1% to US$63.39 per barrel by 2:10 pm AEDT (3:10 am GMT). West Texas Intermediate climbed 0.1% to $59.16.
At a White House roundtable with executives on Friday (Saturday AEDT), Trump pushed oil majors to invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela.
These companies said they were willing to invest in the country’s oil industry, but would require assistance and safety guarantees from the U.S. government.
ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods called Venezuela “uninvestable”, saying: “We have had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes from what we've historically seen and what is currently the state.”
Trump previously said that Venezuela would send the U.S. 30 to 50 million barrels of oil, and that the U.S. could control Venezuela’s crude sales for years.
“The reported 30–50 million barrels should be understood as a potential monetisation of already-produced crude, not evidence of a production rebound. The significance lies less in the headline volume and more in how fast, repeatable and under what structure those barrels could move,” wrote Vortexa director of maritime risk & intelligence Claire Jungman.
Meanwhile, at least 544 people have been killed during protests against Iran’s government, per the Human Rights Activists News Agency.
U.S. officials are reportedly considering options including aerial strikes on Iranian military targets, the Wall Street Journal reported. Iran’s government has told the U.S. not to attack.
