Trump says US to oversee Venezuela oil revival, outlines prices, investment, and security

By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Saturday outlines a US-led plan to revive Venezuela’s oil sector, linking private investment, fuel prices, energy security and renewed diplomatic engagement.

Trump has said his administration’s move to revive Venezuela’s oil industry is to aim at lowering energy prices in the United States while reinforcing American energy strength.

He was addressing oil and gas executives at the White House, Trump said Venezuelan crude would add to global supply and support US refiners.

“One of the things the United States gets out of this will be even lower energy prices,” Trump said.

He cited current petrol prices of USD 1.92 to USD 1.99 per gallon, compared with levels above USD 4 in previous years.

Trump said US refineries were already designed to handle Venezuelan heavy crude. “We have the refining capacity,” he said. “It was actually based very much on the Venezuelan oil.”

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said US oil and gas output had reached record levels.

“We are at record production of oil in the United States, record production in natural gas in the United States,” Wright said.

He argued that past sanctions failed to stop Venezuelan oil from reaching global markets while harming ordinary citizens. “That oil just floated out,” Wright said.

Trump said American oil companies would invest at least USD 100 billion in rebuilding Venezuela’s energy infrastructure, stressing that the funding would be private.

“They’re going to make a lot of money. They’re going to get their money back,” he said.

Vice President JD Vance linked the plan to broader security goals, including reducing drug trafficking.

“It’s going to make our country richer. It’s going to make our country more powerful,” Vance said.

Trump said the economic gains would benefit US workers.

“This leads to lower taxes and a lot of jobs for Americans,” he said.

Before sanctions disrupted trade, Venezuela was a major supplier to US refineries, and global crude supply remains a key factor in American fuel prices.

Executives from major US energy companies said they were ready to invest billions in Venezuela, cited new security guarantees and political backing from Washington.

The leaders from ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and Halliburton described Venezuela as a long-term opportunity after years of decline caused by sanctions and decaying infrastructure at the same White House meeting.

Chevron Vice Chairman Mark Nelson said the company already had a large presence in the country.

“Today Chevron has 3,000 employees in four different joint ventures in Venezuela,” Nelson said.

He said production had risen from about 40,000 barrels per day to 240,000 barrels per day and could increase quickly.

Nelson said Chevron could “increase our liftings from those joint ventures, 100 per cent essentially effective immediately,” with further growth possible within 18 to 24 months.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said legal and commercial reforms were essential.

“If we look at the legal and commercial constructs and frameworks in place today in Venezuela today, it’s un investable,” Woods said.

He said ExxonMobil could deploy a technical team within weeks if conditions allowed.

“We think it’s absolutely critical in the short term that we get a technical team in place to assess the current state of the industry,” Woods said.

ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance praised the administration’s approach.

“I think you’ve given hope to the people of Venezuela again,” he said.

Halliburton CEO Jeff Miller said the company, which exited Venezuela in 2019, was eager to return.

“600 Venezuelans with Halliburton today all around the world look forward to putting them back to work,” Miller said.

Trump said participating firms would receive firm security guarantees.

“They will have those guarantees, yes,” he said.

Executives said long-term stability would determine the pace of investment.

Trump said Washington would directly oversee how US companies operate in Venezuela, marking a sharp shift in relations.

“We’re going to discuss how these great American companies can help rapidly rebuild Venezuela’s dilapidated oil industry,” he said.

He confirmed that Venezuela had already transferred 30 million barrels of oil to the US, worth about USD 4 billion.

“That’s a lot of oil,” Trump said. “It’s on its way to the United States right now.”

Trump said Venezuela held some of the world’s largest oil reserves.

“Some people say it is the biggest in the world,” he said.

He repeated that investment had long been blocked by security concerns.

“One of the reasons you couldn’t go in is that you had no guarantees,” Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the plan would roll out in stages. “We’re working very cooperatively with the interim authorities there,” Rubio said, adding that revenues would be used to buy American goods.

Trump said he expected to meet Venezuelan representatives soon.

“I will be meeting with various representatives of Venezuela, probably pretty soon,” he said.

He said the administration’s approach was designed to avoid instability. “We don’t want to see destabilization in the country,” Trump said.

Trump also confirmed that a Venezuelan opposition figure who received the Nobel Peace Prize would visit Washington next week.

“She’s going to come in and pay her regards to our country,” he said. The administration, he added, would continue to prioritize cooperation over conflict. “We’re dealing with them very smart,” Trump concluded.