Power Lunch 9/2/26

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**Kelly Evans** (1:04)
Welcome to Power Lunch, I'm Kelly Evans, alongside Dominic Chu today. With some big news coming out of Venezuela. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in a joint news conference with Acting Venezuelan President Delci Rodriguez, signing a new oil agreement that gives the US access to the country's vast oil reserves. Brian Sullivan is there and will join us shortly with more on that and other energy news. Pippa Stevens is also on the ground out in Utah, as that state is preparing to connect the nation's first enhanced geothermal project to the grid using drilling technology powered by oil and gas.

**Dominic Chu** (1:38)
And he built a big business around a big idea. Now he's bringing AI into the equation.
Beast Industries, the company behind Mr. Beast, is partnering with Google to use Gemini across its next wave of content and challenges. The CEO, Jeff Hausenbold, will join us later on this hour.

**Kelly Evans** (1:56)
Let's begin with those major energy deals in Venezuela. The US is moving to unlock oil flows with Chevron playing a central role. Brian Sullivan is live from Caracas, where he was in the room for this landmark signing just a short time ago. Brian, it's good to see you again. And what can you tell us?

**Brian Sullivan** (2:14)
Well, when the sun came up today, we thought, well, it's a new day literally and then is it a new day figuratively? Is this a new beginning for a country that was once the richest in Latin America, was one of the largest oil producers in the world? But since the Chavez and Maduro regimes has fallen on hard times, under now interim president, Delci Rodriguez, they're hoping for a change and maybe that change began today with the signing of a number of different deals. There is the US deal with Venezuela that is hoping to increase production by a couple hundred thousand barrels a day. Then there's a separate deal where Chevron, which has been here since 1923, over 100 years, will expand its own production. So we have both Energy Secretary Christopher Wright and Chevron CEO Michael Worth. They are both on the ground along with a number of other CEOs and vice presidential types here in Caracas, Venezuela. We're actually at the Presidential Palace. It's about 50 yards over my left-hand shoulder here. See the city of Caracas right behind us. First off, let's start with the Secretary of Energy because that deal is the one that has gotten some scrutiny. The deal being made with the company called NABEP, North American Blue Energy Partners, run by a figure that has been written about extensively, a gentleman named Alejandro Betancourt. He was not in the room where the deals were just signed just now, but I am told that he is here in Caracas, maybe near the Presidential Palace. Hoping to speak with him later on today. We shall see.
Anyway, we sat down this morning with Energy Secretary Christopher Wright and talked about this deal. And more importantly, why would American or international companies feel comfortable doing business in a country which has a history, and just ask Exxon or ConocoPhillips, of expropriating American assets? And he said the goal is to rebuild confidence. Listen.

**Christopher Wright** (4:01)
What we're doing is increasing the confidence for private businesses to come do deals in Venezuela directly with the government of Venezuela and possibly also with the partnership between Nibab. This is President Trump's grand plan to replace conflict with commerce. I think we'll be well over a million and a half barrels a day by the first half of next year.
And Venezuelan production will be over two million barrels a day by the end of this decade.

**Brian Sullivan** (4:30)
And part of that confidence Kelly and Dom has to do with changing some of the laws. The laws that are in place today regarding taxation and oil profits, they are not the same as they were under previous administrations. They were very different than they were just even six months ago. And that is the critical part of this story. Michael Worth, the CEO of Chevron, is also here. Like I said, they're making a separate deal and they're hoping to increase production by a couple hundred thousand barrels a day.