United States President Donald Trump has said Venezuela will hand over between 30 and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States following a US-backed military operation that led to the removal of President Nicolás Maduro.
Trump said the crude, valued at roughly $2.8bn (£2.1bn), would be sold at market price, with the proceeds placed under his control and deployed for the benefit of both Venezuela and the US.
Announcing the move on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, Trump said the decision was taken by Venezuela’s interim authorities. “This oil will be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States,” he wrote.
The statement came a day after Delcy Rodríguez, previously Venezuela’s vice-president, was sworn in as interim president. Maduro has since been transported to the United States to face drug trafficking and weapons-related charges.
Trump has also insisted that American oil firms can quickly restore Venezuela’s battered energy sector, predicting production would be “up and running” within 18 months. He argued that bringing Venezuelan oil back to the market would help stabilise global prices and advance US economic interests.
Energy analysts remain unconvinced. Experts previously told the BBC that reviving Venezuela’s oil industry would require tens of billions of dollars in fresh investment and could take up to a decade, citing years of neglect, decaying infrastructure and the technical challenges of producing the country’s heavy crude.
Although Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves - estimated at about 303 billion barrels - its output has been in steady decline since the early 2000s. Expanding production would be costly, and much of the oil is difficult and expensive to refine.
CBS reported that executives from major US oil companies are expected to meet officials from the Trump administration this week to discuss the situation. At present, Chevron is the only major US firm still operating in Venezuela.
Commenting on Trump’s remarks, Chevron spokesman Bill Turenne said the company remained focused on employee safety and the protection of its assets, adding that it continued to operate in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
ConocoPhillips, which no longer operates in Venezuela, said it was monitoring developments and their possible implications for global energy supply, but said it was too early to speculate on future investments. Exxon declined to comment.
Trump and Vice-President JD Vance have also accused Venezuela of having “seized” or “stolen” American oil—claims that analysts say oversimplify a complex history. Venezuela nationalised its oil industry in 1976 and increased state control over foreign-owned assets under President Hugo Chávez in 2007, but ownership of the oil itself has always rested with the Venezuelan state.
In 2019, a World Bank arbitration tribunal ordered Venezuela to pay $8.7bn in compensation to ConocoPhillips over the 2007 expropriations, a judgment that remains unpaid. Analysts say unresolved legal disputes and governance concerns could still deter large-scale US investment, despite the Trump administration’s confidence.
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