United States President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S will receive between 30 to 50 million barrels of high-quality oil from Venezuela.
Taking to his Truth Social media account on Tuesday, Trump said the transfer of up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S was agreed to by Venezuela’s interim authorities led by Delcy Rodríguez.
According to Trump, the sanctioned crude will be diverted directly to U.S Gulf Coast refineries.
The U.S President emphasized that the oil will be sold at market prices, which currently sit near $56 per barrel, potentially generating up to $2.8 billion in revenue.
He added that the deal to transfer up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S will be executed “immediately” by U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Trump stated: “I am pleased to announce that the Interim Authorities in Venezuela will be turning over between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of high-quality, Sanctioned Oil to the United States of America.
“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!
“I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately. It will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The agreement announced by Trump comes just days after the U.S military forces conducted an operation in Caracas, Venezuela, resulting in the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
It was gathered that Venezuelan President Maduro was captured by military operatives of the U.S Delta Force.
The couple has since made an appearance before a court in New York, where they are charged in a federal drug-trafficking conspiracy indictment.
The charges against them include narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and various weapons-related offenses involving machine guns and destructive devices.
They both pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against them.
Following the capture of Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as Venezuela’s interim president on Monday by the country’s lawmakers.
The deal to transfer up to 50 million barrels of oil to the U.S by Venezuela also comes as Trump plans to meet with representatives from the major U.S oil companies Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil, along with other domestic producers, at the White House on Friday “to discuss making significant investments in Venezuela’s oil sector.”
Trump has said that U.S oil companies would end up investing billions of dollars to rehabilitate Venezuela’s aging oil production capabilities.
Chevron currently operates in Venezuela, the only U.S oil company to do so. Venezuela’s then-President Hugo Chávez nationalized the assets of ConocoPhillips and Exxon in the mid-2000s.
