US Energy Secretary says Washington will manage Venezuela’s oil sales “indefinitely,” aiming to stabilise and grow production after the toppling of Maduro.
WASHINGTON: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington will control sales of Venezuelan oil “indefinitely.”
The announcement came a day after President Donald Trump said Venezuela’s interim leaders agreed to US-managed marketing of 30 to 50 million barrels of crude.
“We’re going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela, first this backed-up stored oil, and then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” Wright said at a Goldman Sachs energy event in Miami.
He suggested sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector would be waived to facilitate exports following the US toppling of leader Nicolas Maduro.
The United States would also supply the diluting agents needed to prepare Venezuela’s extra-heavy crude for shipment.
“As we make progress with the government, you know, we’ll enable the importing of parts and equipment and services to kind of prevent the industry from collapsing, stabilise the production, and then as quickly as possible, start to see it growing again,” Wright added.
The former oil and gas executive said restoring Venezuela’s production to historical highs of over three million barrels per day would require “tens of billions of dollars and significant time.”
In the short-to-medium term, he said several hundred thousand additional barrels could be achieved with small capital deployment for spare parts and revitalisation.
Venezuela holds about a fifth of the world’s oil reserves, but observers note a quick output increase is hampered by creaking infrastructure, low prices, and political uncertainty.
Trump said on Tuesday that 30 to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude will be shipped to US ports, with the revenue placed under his personal control.
That revenue could exceed USD 2 billion at current market prices.
US special forces captured Maduro and his wife in Caracas on Saturday, taking them to New York to face drug charges.
It remains unclear whether interim president Delcy Rodriguez agreed to hand over the oil, how the plan would work, or its legal basis.
“Think about where Venezuela was a week ago. You know, it’s a little different today, but everything else is the same way it was,” Wright said.
“So it is going to require this cooperation between — and pressure between — the United States and Venezuela.”
