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US President Donald Trump has stated that American oil companies could expand their presence in Venezuela within 18 months—and potentially “up and running” even sooner.
“I think we can do it in less time than that, but it’ll be a lot of money,” Trump told NBC News. “A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent, and the oil companies will spend it, then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue.” His remarks followed a US military operation on Saturday that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump said Americans would have a presence in the country “as it pertains to oil,” while noting that companies would first need to rebuild Venezuela’s deteriorating infrastructure before exploiting its rich oil reserves.
Currently, Chevron is the only major US oil company operating in Venezuela. ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil left nearly 20 years ago after their assets were nationalized under Hugo Chávez. “It’ll be a very substantial amount of money,” Trump said of the investments required. “But they’ll do very well. And the country will do well.” He added that expanded drilling in Venezuela could help reduce oil prices.
Trump also noted that American oil companies were aware the administration had been considering a military operation but were not informed beforehand.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright is scheduled to meet with executives from Exxon and ConocoPhillips later this week to discuss Venezuelan oil, NBC News reported. Wright is leading the administration’s efforts to rebuild Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
