Venezuela's long-awaited oil revival has been slower than many in Washington anticipated., according to the Wall Street Journal. Seven months after Nicolás Maduro's removal, negotiations between the interim government and major U.S. energy companies remain bogged down, with no landmark investment deals despite the country's vast crude reserves. Rather than rushing back into the country, firms such as ExxonMobil and Chevron are taking a cautious approach. Executives remain wary of Venezuela's history of nationalizing foreign assets, unresolved compensation disputes dating back to the Chávez era, and lingering political uncertainty. Venezuela's oil production has climbed to roughly 1.07 million barrels per day, up from about 937,000 last year, but it remains a fraction of the country's late-1990s peak.