US oil companies are rapidly expanding operations in Venezuela and the Middle East as the Trump administration reshapes global energy geopolitics. Chevron announced a $7bn investment plan in Venezuela, the first major US oil investment since the administration toppled Nicolás Maduro last year. The deal places the US in majority control of 65bn barrels alongside partner Alejandro Betancourt, owner of Venezuela's second-largest private oil company.

A parallel surge is occurring in the Middle East, where Dallas tycoon Ross Perot Jr., board chair of the US Chamber of Commerce and chair of Perot Companies, says American firms are being asked to revitalize old oilfields across the region. Perot's HKN Energy operates in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and is now active in Syria, driving less than 100km from existing operations to restart fields. Chevron is expanding to revive a Syria-Iraq pipeline bypassing the Strait of Hormuz, following ConocoPhillips, which signed a contract to develop Syrian gasfields in June.

Analysts like Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial note the market has absorbed supply workarounds despite US-Iran hostilities. Perot believes western companies are "on standby" to enter Iran if moderate factions ascend, though he remains cautious on Venezuela due to contractual terms. The central question remains whether the US government can provide the security guarantees needed to sustain these high-risk investments.