A Fox News host joked on air that a television drama had effectively turned him into an authority on the oil business, as discussion turned to the real reason behind President Donald Trump’s interest in Venezuela.
The comment came during a broader exchange about American oil interests abroad, as Trump has pushed an energy-focused approach toward Venezuela, where U.S. companies have long tangled with the government over assets and compensation.
Speaking on Fox and Friends on Monday morning, Brian Kilmeade ran through the status of major oil companies that once operated in the country.
“Yeah. ConocoPhillips, uh, they pulled out. They, they, uh, they’re suing for 20 billion. Wasn’t going anywhere. Now it could go somewhere,” he said. “Exxon pulled out. They’re suing for 12 billion. The one that stayed, uh, was Chevron.”
Kilmeade added that Chevron accounts for “a third of their outcome,” before musing about whether companies would return if conditions changed. “This is what they tell me in the oil business, and I watch Landman, so I feel like an expert,” he said, laughing.
Landman is a scripted television drama series on Paramount+ about the modern oil and gas industry.
The show is set primarily in West Texas and centers on a “landman,” a real industry role referring to someone who negotiates mineral rights, leases land for drilling, and manages relationships between oil companies and landowners.
He went on to describe oil price thresholds, saying producers stop drilling if prices fall below sixty dollars, and framed the issue as a choice between domestic drilling and Venezuela.
Co-host Ainsley Earhardt played along. “We’ve learned a lot about crude oil from The Beverly Hillbillies. And a lot about the latest techniques from Landman, yes,” she said.
“And what else is there?” Kilmeade replied. “We could go to school, but why when we can watch sitcoms?”
