ExxonMobil Signs Deal Toward a Return to Venezuela, Nearly 20 Years After Its Assets Were Seized

ExxonMobil has taken a first step back into Venezuela.

The Texas-based company signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela on Monday that could lead to its return, almost two decades after the socialist government took its assets ^[1].

The New York Post noted the shift comes less than a year after the world's biggest oil company called the country "uninvestable" ^[2].

Venezuela sits on some of the largest oil reserves on earth, but it has pumped far less than it could for years. Crude production has risen moderately since the United States ousted Venezuela's president in January, Semafor reported, but it remains far below its 1990s peak ^[3].

The Power Grid's view: American companies and American know-how in Venezuela's oil fields would be good for the Western Hemisphere's energy security, and good for prices at home. A memorandum is not a contract, though. Watch for the terms.