President Donald Trump declared on Tuesday night that the temporary authorities in Venezuela will hand over between 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States following the U.S.’s swift removal of the South American nation’s dictatorial leader, Nicolas Maduro.
In a social media update, Trump stated that the oil will be priced at the market rate, “and that revenue will be managed by me, as the President of the United States of America, to ensure it benefits the citizens of Venezuela and the United States!”
“I have directed Energy Secretary Chris Wright to implement this plan, without delay,” Trump mentioned. “It will be transported by storage vessels, and delivered straight to unloading stations in the United States.”
Trump remarked that the oil transferred to the U.S. was “top quality” and “sanctioned.”
U.S. crude futures dropped 1.3% to $56.39 per barrel following Trump’s announcement.
This news emerged three days after U.S. forces detained Maduro and his spouse in Caracas, subsequently transporting them to New York, where they face charges in a federal drug-trafficking conspiracy case.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that Trump intends to meet with representatives from major U.S. oil firms Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil, along with additional domestic producers, at the White House on Friday “to deliberate on making substantial investments in Venezuela’s oil industry.”
Trump has asserted that U.S. oil companies will ultimately pour billions into revitalizing Venezuela’s deteriorating oil production infrastructure.
Currently, Chevron is the only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela. The assets of ConocoPhillips and Exxon were seized by Venezuela’s former President Hugo Chávez in the mid-2000s.
Maduro and his spouse, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty on Monday during their arraignment in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
During that session, Maduro informed Judge Alvin Hellerstein that he had been “abducted” and claimed to be a “prisoner of war.”
