Exxon Mobil is making preparations to resume processing Venezuelan crude oil at its large Baton Rouge, Louisiana refinery, industry sources said to Reuters.

The facility, which has a capacity of about 522,500 barrels per day (b/d), previously handled heavy, sour crude from Venezuela but stopped doing so after US sanctions were imposed on the South American nation.

The move marks a potential shift in operations amid evolving oil market dynamics, though the company has not publicly commented on the plans.

Recently, Exxon Mobil showed its interest in returning to Venezuela, and it is preparing to send a technical evaluation team to the South American nation within weeks, despite US President Donald Trump signaling he may block the oil major from operating there.

This came after holding a high-profile White House meeting of oil executives last week, during which Trump urged US energy companies to invest up to $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s struggling oil sector after US forces captured and removed President Nicolás Maduro on January 3.

At that meeting, Exxon CEO Darren Woods told the administration that Venezuela would need significant legal and investment protections before Exxon would commit capital, saying the country was effectively “uninvestable” under current conditions.

Trump publicly criticized Woods’s stance and said he may keep Exxon out of Venezuelan operations altogether.