TotalEnergies CEO says return to Venezuela not high on agenda

Jan 13 (Reuters) – French oil major TotalEnergies would consider returning to Venezuela but it is not a priority, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

“People want to rush back to Venezuela but it will require a clear framework to be able to invest there and it will take time,” CEO Patrick Pouyanne said at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

TotalEnergies left Venezuela in 2021.

Pouyanne cited the high level of capital investment required to produce and transport Venezuela’s heavy crude oil and to manage the associated greenhouse gas emissions.

“Maybe you could easily add 100,000 or 200,000 barrels per day of additional production, but if you think about adding 1 million barrels per day, it will require $100 billion,” Pouyanne said.

“We’ll look at it, we’ll see, we are always evaluating, but it’s not high on my agenda,” the CEO said.

President Donald Trump has urged U.S. energy firms to invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry.

He threatened to keep U.S. oil major Exxon out of the country after Exxon CEO Darren Woods called Venezuela “uninvestable” and that it would need to make legal changes and protect investments before Exxon would commit to operating there.