Since the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Washington has been trying to control the exploitation of the huge oil reserves in the South American country.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump told Congress that the United States had received over 80 million barrels of oil from Venezuela, calling them “our new friend and partner.” “We have just received from our new friend and partner, Venezuela, over 80 million barrels of oil,” declared the American president during his State of the Union address.
Since the US captured President Maduro on January 3, now deposed, Washington has been working to control the exploitation of the massive oil reserves in South America. The current production is capped at around one million barrels per day, after decades of underinvestment that have left the infrastructure in poor condition.
Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves in the world with over 303 billion barrels, revised its oil law last month, opening the sector to private investment. The Trump administration wants major American oil companies to quickly rebuild the sector and increase production by several million barrels per day, stating that both countries will share the profits, provided that industry giants return to invest in the current political instability.
Chris Wright, Donald Trump’s Energy Minister, visited Caracas in mid-February and promised a “dramatic increase” in oil production in Venezuela. According to him, relations between Washington and Caracas are back on track.
The United States is also negotiating to sell Venezuelan oil to India, in order to help New Delhi diversify its sources of crude oil supply, and to reduce its dependence on Russian oil.
