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Trump administration has not consulted US oil majors about Venezuela, oil execs say

Jan 5 (Reuters) - The Trump administration did not consult with oil companies Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, or Chevron Corp about Venezuela before or after US forces captured the South American country’s president Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3, according to four oil industry executives familiar with the matter.

An offshore worker stands aboard the Chevron Corp. Jack/St. Malo deepwater oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, U.S., on Friday, May 18, 2018. While U.S. shale production has been dominating markets, a quiet revolution has been taking place offshore. The combination of new technology and smarter design will end much of the overspending that's made large troves of subsea oil barely profitable to produce, industry executives say. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg Chevron Corp. Jack/St. Malo Platform As Big Oil Rivals Shale In Gulf

That contradicts President Donald Trump's assertion aboard Air Force One on Sunday that he had spoken to all of the U.S. oil companies "before and after" Maduro’s capture about his plans for investing in the country.

"Nobody in those three companies has had conversations with the White House about operating in Venezuela, pre-removal or post-removal to this point," one of the sources said.

The three other sources also said the three companies had no prior knowledge about the U.S. operation to seize Maduro, and had held no conversations with the Trump administration about investing there as of Sunday.

The sources asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Sheila Dang; Writing by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama )

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