US Energy Secretary To Consult Oil Majors On Venezuela Energy Sector Plan: Report

Energy Secretary Chris Wright is reportedly meeting with oil-industry big wigs at the Goldman Sachs Energy, Clean Tech & Utilities Conference in Miami later this week.

• Top executives from major U.S. oil companies including Chevron and ConocoPhillips are expected to be present at the event, according to a Bloomberg report. 
• A separate Reuters report said that U.S. officials are speaking with major oil executives, urging them to return to Venezuela quickly and commit substantial capital in the country to revive its battered oil industry.
• Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the narco-terrorism charges against him on Monday.

The Energy Secretary of the U.S., Chris Wright, is reportedly meeting with oil-industry big wigs later this week to discuss plans about Venezuela’s energy sector.

According to a Bloomberg report, Wright will be present at the Goldman Sachs Energy, Clean Tech & Utilities Conference, scheduled to be held from 7-8 January in Miami.

Top executives from major U.S. oil companies including Chevron Corp. (CVX) and ConocoPhillips (COP) are expected to be present at the event, as per a person familiar with the matter, cited in the report.

Maduro’s Arrest

The U.S. arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Saturday in a military operation in the country. The American government has accused Maduro of drug trafficking and weapons offenses.

President Donald Trump reportedly said American firms will be involved in rebuilding Venezuela’s energy sector after the arrest. Meanwhile, earlier today, Maduro pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the narco-terrorism charges against him.

U.S. Oil Companies Rally

A separate report from Reuters said that White House and State Department officials are speaking with U.S. oil executives, urging them to return to Venezuela quickly and commit substantial capital in the country to revive its battered oil industry to reclaim compensation for the assets expropriated twenty years ago.

Chevron is the only big oil company still operating in Venezuela.

Shares of CVX climbed nearly 6% in Monday’s morning trade at the time of writing while COP stock jumped over 3.5% in the same period after gaining over 9% each in the pre-market session.

How Did Stocktwits Users React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around Chevron was in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day amid ‘extremely high’ message volumes at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, retail sentiment around ConocoPhillips was also in the ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day while message volumes jumped to ‘extremely high’ from ‘high’ levels a day ago.

Shares of CVX are up over 11% in the past year while shares of COP rose 0.19% in the same period.

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