Trump Trade: Oil companies’ talks for drilling spots in Venezuela hit impasse

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly.

DRILLING SPOTS IN VENEZUELA: 

ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and other oil companies have been fighting over the few attractive drilling spots in Venezuela, but some of the discussions with the country’s leaders have hit an impasse, Collin Eaton and Kejal Vyas of The Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Trump administration had high hopes U.S. oil companies would quickly sign investment deals to begin production in the country and has been putting pressure on interim President Delcy Rodriguez to boost Venezuela’s production. The issues, however, include U.S. oil companies being interested in most of the same assets and the companies wanting to secure the most favorable terms possible. Other publicly traded companies in the space include BP (BP), ConocoPhillips (COP), Shell (SHEL) and TotalEnergies (TTE).

GAZA: 

In a Truth Social post, President Trump stated, “Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY. This agreement is a critical step towards Gaza finally being governed by a new Palestinian government that will work closely with the Board of Peace to help the Palestinian people. At the same time, Israel will have the security it deserves, with Gaza no longer used as a base for terror attacks. This is a major milestone in the implementation of the Trump 20-Point Plan. The agreement will be carried out in carefully structured phases. As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.

“One year ago there was a violent raging war, humanitarian crisis and hostages kept in brutal captivity. We have made historic progress and there is still much work to do. I want to thank the mediators-Egypt, Qatar, and Turkiye-for their important efforts, and especially my outstanding team, whose tireless work made this historic breakthrough possible. The threat that emerged from Gaza on October 7 will NOT be allowed to rebuild! Under this agreement, Gaza will finally be in the hands of a new Palestinian government that serves its PEOPLE. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL ON THIS AMAZING DEVELOPMENT, THAT EVERYBODY SAID COULD NEVER BE ACHIEVED!”

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Originally Posted July 31, 2026 – Trump Trade: Oil companies’ talks for drilling spots in Venezuela hit impasse