US President Donald Trump has said the United States is not at war with Venezuela and that his administration may support oil companies to help rebuild the country’s energy system.
In an interview with NBC News on Monday, Trump said the US “may subsidise an effort by oil companies to rebuild Venezuela’s energy infrastructure.” He said the work “could take less than 18 months.”
Trump also said Venezuela would not hold new elections in the next 30 days.
He added that he would not need lawmakers to approve a decision if he chose to send US troops back into Venezuela. “I would not need lawmakers to act in order to send troops back,” he said.
Trump repeated that the United States is not at war with the country. “We are not at war with Venezuela,” he told NBC.
Asked if the administration had briefed any oil companies ahead of the military operation, Trump said, “No. But we’ve been talking to the concept of, ‘what if we did it?’”
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“The oil companies were absolutely aware that we were thinking about doing something,” Trump told NBC News. “But we didn’t tell them we were going to do it.”
He told NBC News it was “too soon” to say whether he had personally spoken to top executives at the three companies. “I speak to everybody,” he said.
CBS News, citing an unnamed source, said executives from the three were expected to meet on Thursday with Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
One oil industry executive told Reuters the companies would be reluctant to talk about potential Venezuela operations in group settings with the White House, citing antitrust concerns that limit collective discussions among competitors about investment plans, timing and production levels.
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BIG PLANS, BIG PROBLEMS
US forces carried out a raid in Caracas on Saturday that led to Maduro’s arrest and transfer to the United States on narcotics-related charges.
Trump said he expects major US oil companies to invest billions of dollars to lift Venezuela’s production, which has fallen sharply in recent years.
Analysts said progress could be slowed by damaged infrastructure and uncertainty over politics, law and future US policy.
Chevron is currently the only major US company still operating in Venezuela. Exxon and ConocoPhillips left after projects were nationalised under former president Hugo Chávez, and both firms have pursued compensation claims.
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Chevron continues to export oil from Venezuela to the US Gulf Coast and has had to manage its operations carefully under US policy in recent years. Investors reacted positively to expectations that US firms could gain access to Venezuelan oil reserves.
Trump said the US embargo on Venezuelan oil remains in place. Energy stocks rose, with Exxon Mobil and Chevron both gaining in Monday trading.
