Trump said the oil, held in storage due to Washington’s embargo on Venezuela exports, would be sold at market prices and that he would control the resulting revenues to ensure the money is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the US. AlJazeera reported.
Trump added that he had directed his energy secretary, Chris Wright, to execute the plan “immediately”.
“It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States,” Trump said on his platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday.
Trump’s announcement follows his pledge to “take back” Venezuela’s oil reserves and revive the Latin American country’s flailing energy industry in the wake of his administration’s abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Trump has said that US oil companies are primed to invest billions of dollars to rebuild Venezuela’s decrepit infrastructure.
Chervon, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips – the three biggest US oil companies – have not directly commented on Trump’s plans, but representatives of the firms are set to meet the president on Friday to discuss Venezuela, according to US media reports.
In the context of the global market, 50 million barrels per day (bpd) would represent only a modest addition to supply.
Global consumption exceeds 100 million bpd, and the US alone produces about 14 million bpd.
Mark Finley, an energy expert at the Baker Institute in Houston, Texas, said that it was difficult to parse the significance of Trump’s announcement without further details.
