U.S. President Donald Trump hinted U.S. oil companies investing in Venezuela’s reconstruction could receive reimbursements from the government or through future revenues, NBC News reported, citing an interview with the president.
Trump estimated the project to revive Venezuela’s oil infrastructure could take under 18 months but would require “a tremendous amount of money” upfront from oil firms.
“It’ll be a very substantial amount of money will be spent,” Trump said. “But they’ll do very well.” “And the country will do well,” he added.
Trump said he believed that tapping Venezuela’s oil reserves is going to reduce oil prices. “Having a Venezuela that’s an oil producer is good for the United States because it keeps the price of oil down.”
“The oil companies were absolutely aware that we were thinking about doing something,” Trump said. “But we didn’t tell them we were going to do it.”
Major firms like ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and ConocoPhillips (COP) remain cautious due to past asset seizures and political risks. XOM, CVX and COP moved marginally higher on Tuesday during pre-market hours of trading.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright reportedly plans to talk this week with oil company executives about rebuilding Venezuela’s energy industry.