Subject: Re: Venezuela - Who and How
I was surprised a few weeks ago when they oil companies expressed no desire to invest in oil infrastructure and new fields, because that meant to me the admin didn't sound out oil companies in advance - when that's the only real thing you'd get interested in down there. You move in a fleet without the troop ships, and haven't sounded out the oil companies on the QT?

Politicos reports that there have been discussions with the oil companies about a quid pro quo in Venezuela for a couple of weeks - that the oil companies would have an opportunity to get compensation for their seized assets, but they'd have to be willing to rebuild the oil industry there:

https://www.politico.com/news/...

Obviously they didn't tip their hand about the military operation, and probably framed this as simply discussing a possible contingency. But apparently they've been sounding them out on this, and per Politico mostly being told that there were far too many unknowns for the oil companies to really know whether they'd do it or not, including some of the unknowns you mention.