American energy firms have yet to say whether they plan to return to Venezuela to resurrect an oil industry hollowed out by years of neglect.
Chevron, the only U.S. energy titan operating in Venezuela, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that it was following “relevant laws and regulations.”
“Chevron remains focused on the safety and well-being of our employees, as well as the integrity of our assets,” a Chevron spokesperson added.
ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did ConocoPhillips.
‘WE BUILT VENEZUELA’S OIL INDUSTRY:’ TRUMP VOWS US ENERGY RETURN AFTER MADURO CAPTURE
President Donald Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday that the U.S. would sell large amounts of Venezuelan oil to other countries after ramping up production.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest oil reserves, but years of underinvestment and crumbling infrastructure have left much of that wealth locked away. Trump said U.S. energy firms could return to the country to unlock that potential.
“We are going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken oil infrastructure and start making money for the country,” he said.
US CAPTURE OF MADURO THROWS SPOTLIGHT ON VENEZUELA’S MASSIVE OIL RESERVES
When asked by Fox News’ Lucas Tomlinson about the future of Venezuela’s oil sector and its buyers — which include China, Russia and Iran — Trump said the United States would sell large amounts of oil to many countries.
“We’re in the oil business,” Trump said.
He added that the United States “built Venezuela’s oil industry with American talent, drive and skill” and said the country’s socialist government later took control of it.
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“Venezuela unilaterally seized and sold American oil, American assets and American platforms, costing us billions and billions of dollars,” Trump said. “They took all of our property.”
Venezuela pushed out Western oil companies under a nationalization campaign launched by former President Hugo Chávez, ending what had once been a major period of U.S. energy investment.
Meanwhile, Trump reiterated that the U.S. embargo on all Venezuelan oil remains in full effect.
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