ExxonMobil in talks to return to Venezuela, target Orinoco heavy crude

ExxonMobil is negotiating a return to Venezuela nearly two decades after its assets were nationalized, seeking access to heavy crude deposits in the Orinoco Belt and Carabobo. The potential investment would test Venezuela's reforms to attract foreign capital, signaling a shift in the country's energy policy. The outcome remains uncertain as talks are preliminary and subject to political and regulatory hurdles.