ExxonMobil said it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA to assess possible exploration and production opportunities. The company called it a “meaningful first step” toward a potential return to Venezuela nearly two decades after its assets were expropriated.

“Any future investment would require stable policies, clear regulations, strong investment protections and competitive returns,” Exxon said in a statement. It did not disclose which projects or areas it is evaluating.

Moving from the MOU to real operations would require a definitive contract — a joint venture or production-sharing agreement — under the recently reformed hydrocarbons law. Without that step, the memorandum remains only an exploratory intention.

Before the expropriation, Exxon held 41.67% of the Cerro Negro heavy-oil project (now Petromonagas) and 50% of La Ceiba in the southern Maracaibo basin. Affiliates filed ICSID arbitration in 2007; in 2014 the tribunal awarded ExxonMobil $1.6 billion plus interest from 2007 — an award Venezuela has challenged and that remains unresolved.

Reuters earlier reported Exxon’s interest in returning to Petromonagas and exploring adjacent areas in the Carabobo block. Petromonagas hosts one of the country’s few still-operating extra-heavy upgraders, critical for Orinoco Belt exports.

In January, CEO Darren Woods called the country “uninvestable,” demanding stronger long-term protections against future expropriations. After an oil-sector reform pushed by interim President Delcy Rodríguez, his tone softened: at third-quarter results he cited fiscal and legal progress, but said Exxon will not commit until it has a viable, sustainable project that can compete in its portfolio.

Source consulted: ExxonMobil signs deal in step toward re-entering Venezuela — Bloomberg (confirmation: El Economista)