Geopolitics loom large over Big Oil earnings as investors seek Venezuela details

HOUSTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil and Chevron executives may face more questions about their investment opportunities in Venezuela than their actual quarterly earnings when they hold calls with analysts on Friday. The U.S. capture and removal of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro earlier this month opened a possible – albeit arduous – path for Big Oil to access the country’s massive crude reserves, after President Donald Trump announced his vision for $100 billion of fresh American investment to boost and control Venezuelan oil output. It was a dramatic geopolitical twist that followed renewed U.S.-China trade tensions and Russia-Ukraine peace…