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ExxonMobil signs preliminary deal with Venezuela on returning to oil fields

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

ExxonMobil branded storage tank at a refinery with smokestacks and steam plumes
Image via The New York TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

ExxonMobil says it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Caracas, the Financial Times reports. The New York Times and Bloomberg describe a preliminary deal that moves the company toward pumping oil in Venezuela again, nearly two decades after it left the country. Bloomberg says the talks concern operating one or more oil fields. Months earlier, Chief Executive Darren Woods had called Venezuela ‘uninvestable’ given its condition at the time, Bloomberg reports.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. ExxonMobil said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Caracas on a possible return to Venezuela.

    One outletFinancial Times· Center

  2. The deal is described as a preliminary step toward ExxonMobil operating oil fields in Venezuela again.

    One side only: the leftReported byLeft2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The New York Times, Bloomberg
  3. Chief Executive Darren Woods had called Venezuela ‘uninvestable’ months before, given its condition at the time.

    Reported byLeft1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Bloomberg
    Center
    Financial Times
  4. The New York Times describes the agreement as preliminary and says ExxonMobil left Venezuela nearly two decades ago.

    One outletThe New York Times· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report that ExxonMobil has reached an initial agreement with Venezuela on a possible return to its oil fields. The left-side outlets lead with the deal itself, while the Financial Times leads with Darren Woods’s earlier description of Venezuela as ‘uninvestable’.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Both left-side outlets lead with a signed or struck deal and its step toward returning to Venezuelan oil, with the New York Times stressing that the deal is preliminary.

    Exxon Strikes Preliminary Deal to Return to Venezuela
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines
  • the center

    1 outlet

    The Financial Times, unlike the left-side headlines’ signed-deal wording, frames the story as ExxonMobil exploring a return after calling Venezuela ‘uninvestable’.

    ExxonMobil explores return to Venezuela after calling nation ‘uninvestable’
    Financial TimesCenterAll center headlines
  • the right

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Mantle found no loaded language in this coverage. Every headline and opening was checked against Mantle’s published word list, and Mantle’s AI read all 3 articles in context. Straight reporting often has none.

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets

Leads with

  • preliminary deal
  • step toward returning to Venezuelan oil
  • talks over operating oil fields
  • Woods’s earlier ‘uninvestable’ remark

Leaves out

  • that the document is a memorandum of understanding with Caracas

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • Exxon Strikes Preliminary Deal to Return to Venezuela

    The agreement brings the biggest U.S. oil company a step closer to pumping oil again in Venezuela, nearly two decades after it left the country.

  • ExxonMobil Signs Deal in Step Toward Re-Entering Venezuela

    ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. formalized negotiations with Venezuela about operating one or more oil fields, months after Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods called the country “uninvestable” given its condition at the time.

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • exploring a return
  • earlier ‘uninvestable’ comment
  • memorandum of understanding with Caracas

Leaves out

  • that the talks concern operating one or more oil fields

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    Bloomberg, Nov 9, 7:01 PM EST

  • Center

    33 min later

    Its first report, Nov 9, 7:34 PM EST

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. BloombergLeftNov 9, 7:01 PM EST
  2. Financial TimesCenterNov 9, 7:34 PM EST
  3. The New York TimesLeftNov 9, 7:51 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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