Oil stocks rally as US pushes oil majors to invest big in Venezuela

Shares of energy companies rally premarket after U.S. military intervention in oil-rich Venezuela late last week

*The gains came after Trump said the U.S. needed "total access" to Venezuela’s oil reserves following President Nicolas Maduro’s arrest, fueling bets Washington could ease curbs on Venezuelan crude exports

SLB SLB.N up 9.3%, Halliburton HAL.N rises 10.4%, Exxon Mobil XOM.N gains 4.6%

Chevron CVX.N, Baker Hughes BKR.O, ConocoPhillips COP.N and Valero Energy VLO.N up between 7% and 8%

Scotiabank says Conocophillips COP.N is the biggest near-term potential beneficiary, and if there is a power transfer to a pro-western candidate, it could receive up to $10 billion for past claims and rejoin the Hamaca and Petrozuata projects

Brokerage adds CVX will not receive much upfront one-time payments, but its status as the sole US company currently working in the country may give it a head start

JP Morgan analysts say "Combined oil reserves from Venezuela, Guyana and the US could give the US about 30% of global oil reserves if consolidated under its influence"

JPM sees oil output expanding to 2.5 mln barrels/day over the next decade if there is a political transition, new investments and reforms

Crude prices down about 0.3% on the day O/R