U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a House Republican retreat at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. AFP
"The Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
"This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States."
The White House is organizing a meeting Friday with U.S. oil company executives to discuss investing in Venezuela's oil industry, following the US attack on Caracas and kidnapping President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Representatives of Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips are expected to attend the White House meeting, according to a person familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the plans.
Earlier Tuesday, officials in Caracas announced that at least 24 Venezuelan security officers were killed in the dead-of-night U.S. military attack to capture Nicolás Maduro and spirit him to the United States to face alleged US drug charges.
And the country’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, pushed back on Trump, who earlier this week warned she'd face an outcome worse than Maduro’s if she does not “do what’s right" and overhaul Venezuela into a country that aligns with U.S. interests, including by granting access to American energy companies.
Rodriguez, delivering an address Tuesday before government agricultural and industrial sector officials, said, “Personally, to those who threaten me: My destiny is not determined by them, but by God.”
With oil trading at roughly $56 a barrel, the transaction Trump announced late Tuesday could be worth as much as $2.8 billion. The U.S. goes through an average of roughly 20 million barrels a day of oil and related products, so Venezuela’s transfer would be the equivalent of as much as two and a half days of supply, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Despite Venezuela having the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, it only produces on average about one million barrels day, significantly below the U.S. average daily production of 13.9 million barrels a day during October.
The press office for Venezuela’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s announcement.
ExxonMobil is developing a mammoth offshore oil deposit in the waters off Guyana, Venezuela’s neighbor to the east. The company’s major oil discovery in 2015 prompted Venezuela to revive a century-old territorial dispute with Guyana and take steps to annex the remote region known as Essequibo, which comprises about two-thirds of Guyana’s land mass.
The development has also led to wide-ranging accusations from Venezuela’s government, including Rodríguez, against Guyana’s leaders and ExxonMobil. Two years ago, Venezuelan lawmakers even considered banning any future operation in Venezuela of oil companies working in Guyana.
This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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