US President Donald Trump held talks with representatives of major oil companies at the White House on Friday he asked them to invest up to $100 billion in Venezuela’s oil infrastructure, with the US guaranteeing them “full security and full protection” in return. TASR informs about it according to the reports of AFP and Reuters, CNN and The Guardian.
“We will discuss how these large American companies can help quickly rebuild Venezuela’s devastated oil industry and bring in millions of barrels of oil that will benefit the United States, the people of Venezuela, and the world.” Trump said at the start of a meeting with oil giants.
“We will decide which oil companies will be able to enter the market, with which we will conclude an agreement,” he said. “We will reach an agreement with these companies – probably today or soon,” he added. Trump said that one of the things the US will gain from this will be even lower energy prices.
Trump administration officials have also argued that they must indefinitely control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues to ensure that the country acts in the interests of the US. At the same time, they want the big oil companies to restore Venezuela’s oil fields after decades of decline.
Trump emphasized that the investment would come from oil companies, not the federal government. “They don’t need money from the government, but they need protection and security from the government,” he said.
Reuters reported that some oil companies hard are competing for US licenses to sell existing Venezuelan oil, but some are hesitant to make large, long-term investments due to high costs and political instability in the country.
The American leader added that oil companies will negotiate directly with the US, and not with the Venezuelan leadership, when negotiating access to Venezuelan oil. He noted that under Maduro’s government, he said there were no security guarantees for foreign oil companies. “But now you’re absolutely sure. It’s a completely different Venezuela,” he added.
