US Energy secretary has challenge for American companies to revamp Venezuelan oil industry

American companies are “likely” to have an expanded presence in Venezuela’s oil industry, the US Secretary of Energy said Sunday — with the Trump administration calling on corporations to invest now despite hesitation from fuel giants.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that while the US has not taken over running Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA oil and gas company, the administration is in talks with American companies to take a financial stake in the industry.

“That’s going to be up to American businesses. That’s certainly a very real possibility,” Wright told CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Both Trump and Wright have touted that the US currently controls the sale of Venezuela’s crude oil following the capture of dictator Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.

While Trump claimed that the processing of Venezuelan oil will fall into the hands of American companies, executives for the corporations voiced their concerns in a Friday meeting with the president.

Exxon CEO Darren Woods described Venezuela’s market as “uninvestable,” with ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance voicing equal concern as he called for the US to take over PDVSA.

Lance also appeared more eager to get billions of dollars worth of assets back from Venezuela that the company lost during the 2007 nationalization, a request Trump shot down immediately, saying it was “lost in the past.”

Chevron remains the only major US oil operator in Venezuela, with the company recently stating that it has a way to bring up production from 240,000 barrels of crude a day.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent suggested last week that the US might rely on smaller oil companies to invest in Venezuela rather than the large corporations.

Wright said that Venezuela’s oil was the key to ensure long-term reforms in the socialist country, saying America’s control over the industry would serve as leverage on its government.

“With United States influence now by controlling the sale of their oil and therefore the flow of funds into the country, we think…we will see relatively rapid change, improvement on the ground in Venezuela,” Wright explained.

The energy secretary also defended the Trump administration’s willingness to work with the current Venezuelan government, which is filled with Maduro loyalists who have condemned his capture.

“We need to work with the people that have the guns today to ultimately move the country to a representative government and a better station. But what you’ve got to prevent in the meantime is a collapse of the nation,” Wright said.