U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Democrats launch investigation into oil companies’ communications with the Trump Administration over Venezuela strikes

Democratic senators including the ranking members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee launched an investigation into communications between major U.S. oil and oilfield services companies and the Trump Administration surrounding U.S. military action in Venezuela and efforts to exploit Venezuelan oil resources. Letters to the chief executives of BP America Inc., Baker Hughes, Chevron, Citgo Petroleum Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Continental Resources, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, SLB, Shell USA, Inc., and Weatherford International request documents and information on the companies’ knowledge of the strikes, discussions with Administration officials before and since the operation, and any plans to invest in Venezuelan oil production. The senators’ letters cite President Trump’s public statements linking the operation to U.S. fossil fuel interests and public reports that oil companies were briefed 10 days before the U.S. land strikes and within a day afterwards, despite Congress receiving no advance notice. The correspondence also points to a Department of Energy announcement that the United States will control Venezuelan oil sales “indefinitely” and to statements that the federal government may reimburse companies for costs to rebuild Venezuelan oil infrastructure, which the senators argue could add to taxpayer-funded subsidies for the industry. Requested materials are due by January 21, 2026.