Image: 05 January 2026, Venezuela, Caracas: Detail of a statue on the subject of oil in Caracas, Venezuela. Photo: Javier Campos/dpa (Photo by Javier Campos/picture alliance via Getty Images)

In the wake of U.S. forces abducting Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump has bullishly predicted that American oil companies will eagerly rush to fill the fossil fuel vacuum, set up the necessary extraction infrastructure within 15 months, and start making “a lot of money.”

Industry leaders and experts are far less confident. Nor are they unified in opinion or approach: while some companies have remained coy about their thinking, several economists assert that no oil rush is forthcoming — unless Trump starts pressuring them to go.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Texas-based oil and gas company ConocoPhillips told Salon that the oil production company is “monitoring developments in Venezuela and their potential implications for global energy supply and stability.”

“It would be premature to speculate on any future business activities or investments,” he said.

ExxonMobil and Chevron, two oil and gas giants also based in Texas, have likewise declined to publicly share any plans to extract Venezuelan oil, or lack thereof.

Even without Maduro, Venezuela is, for now, less a pit of anarchy and more a haze of awkward confusion. Trump has suggested that the U.S. will “run the country” for years without any clear message over the scope of a long-term military presence; the regime’s chain of command is paralyzed, but has not collapsed or defected; the presidency itself remains disputed between Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s appointed vice president, and Edmundo González, who is widely considered the actual winner of the 2024 election. The U.S. seizures of at least five oil tankers linked to Venezuela, including one with Russian flags, has further spooked potential investors.

Click here for full article.