Photo: Alamy
President Donald Trump on Friday said that the world’s top oil companies are poised to spend $100 billion collectively in rebuilding the infrastructure to resurrect Venezuela’s capacity to tap into the world’s largest oil reserves.
“The plan is for them to spend, meaning our giant oil companies will be spending at least $100 billion of their money – not the government’s money,” President Trump said during a meeting with oil execs at the White House. “They don’t need government money, but they need government protection.”
He said this massive investment would revive “the capacity and infrastructure necessary.”
The president further announced that Venezuela will “immediately begin refining and selling up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil which will continue indefinitely.”
President Trump also revealed that on Thursday, an estimated 30 million barrels of oil were gifted to the United States by Venezuela. The president said this was worth about “$4 billion.”
“We’re going to be working with Venezuela, and we’re going to be making the decision as to which oil companies are going to go in, that we’re going to allow to go in,” he continued. “…We’re dealing with the country so we’re empowered to make that deal, and you’ll have total safety, total security.”
With the U.S. military’s Operation Absolute Resolve – which resulted in the arrest of Nicolas Maduro – just one week in the rearview mirror, the president said, “it’s a whole new Venezuela.”
President Trump also said that the people of the United States would be “big beneficiaries” of the oil wealth of Venezuela as the situation continues to unfold and U.S. forces continue to seize oil tankers on the open seas.
According to Military.com, the president invited 17 oil companies to the White House on Friday, including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil. The outlet reported that currently, Venezuela produces under one million barrels of oil daily. The $100 billion the president is seeking from oil investors would kick start the revitalization of the oil industry in the South American country.