French energy giant CEO total energy Despite appeals, US president says return to Venezuela is ‘too costly and polluting’ Donald Trump for major oil companies Invest billions of dollars in the country.

The company exited Venezuela in 2022, but the Trump administration has been urging oil majors to return to the country since a U.S. military operation captured the country’s President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3.

Speaking on Wednesday, TotalEnergies Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanné told reporters that the company was exiting the country “because it conflicts with our strategy. The cost is too high, it is too polluting and that remains the case.” Reuters reported the comments.

A spokesperson for TotalEnergies did not immediately provide comment when reached by CNBC.

Trump administration calls on U.S. energy giants Invest $100 billion Rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry.

Trump, who has pledged to support U.S. oil companies investing in Venezuela with government security aid, said last month that energy companies had had problems before “because they didn’t have Trump as president.”

Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, but some U.S. oil companies are wary of rushing back into the country, including Exxon Mobil.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods recently make headlines In meeting with Trump at the White House, he said the Venezuelan market “Unable to invest“In its current state.

Trump then lash out Woods threatened to quit the oil giant and accused the company of “playing too cute”.

TotalEnergies began operating in Venezuela in the 1990s. its departure follows strategic shift Stay away from heavy and high-sulfur crude oils and for safety reasons. Pouyanné has previously said Venezuela is not high on the company’s agenda.

“There are a lot of infrastructure constraints,” Amar Singh, global crude market analyst at Barclays, told CNBC.European Squawk Box” on Wednesday when asked about the investment case for Venezuela.

“But even before we have a dialogue, we first need to understand the regime change scenario. How quickly can we transition to a democratic system?” Singh said.

“We have seen some reforms, but it is a long process and in our view, even if everything goes well, the most optimistic scenario is that by the end of this year, we will only see an increase in Venezuelan production of 200,000 to 300,000 barrels per day,” he added.

total energy wednesday report Fourth-quarter profits fell slightly and share buybacks declined due to a soft crude oil price environment.

Shares of the Paris-listed company were up nearly 2% in early trading, hitting a 52-week high.