US President Donald Trump said on Saturday (January 3rd) that removing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power would open the door to the country’s vast oil reserves, a move that could significantly affect the global energy scene.
“We’re going to have our very big oil companies in the United States, the biggest anywhere in the world, come in, spend billions of dollars, fix some seriously broken infrastructure and start making money for the country,” Trump said at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago.
“They were pumping almost nothing compared to what they could have been.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world
According to the Energy Institute, Venezuela’s oil reserves are likely equivalent to about 300 billion barrels, surpassing even Saudi Arabia, OPEC’s top producer. Trump emphasized the strategic value of these resources.
“We built the Venezuelan oil industry with American talent, enthusiasm, skills, and the socialist regime stole it from us,” he said.
“This represented one of the largest thefts of American property in our country’s history.”
US military presence to secure oil operations
Trump has indicated that the United States will maintain a military presence in Venezuela to protect oil operations after overnight strikes in Caracas.
“We will have a presence in Venezuela in terms of oil because we have to have it, we have been sending our expertise there,” he said.
“So maybe you need something, not much.
American oil companies lead the investment
Trump outlined plans for US oil firms to invest heavily in upgrading Venezuela’s energy infrastructure.
“Our big oil companies in the United States … will come in, spend billions of dollars, fix badly broken infrastructure and start making the country money,” he said.
Chevron currently operates in Venezuela under a limited license, but Trump has suggested broader involvement of other US companies.
Oil, sanctions and global consequences
Trump reaffirmed that the US embargo on Venezuelan oil remains “in full force”. He also highlighted plans to sell Venezuelan oil to international buyers, which could affect relations with major powers.
“We will sell a lot of oil to other countries,” he said.
“We’re in the oil business. We’ll sell it to them.”
