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President Trump said on Friday that major US oil companies will invest $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector following the successful arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Speaking in the East Room of the White House during a meeting with nearly two dozen top oil and gas officials, Trump said U.S. energy companies will rebuild Venezuela’s “rotting” oil infrastructure and boost production to record levels.
“American companies will have the opportunity to rebuild Venezuela’s decaying energy infrastructure and ultimately increase oil production to levels never seen before,” Trump said. “If you add Venezuela and the United States together, we have 55% of the world’s oil.”
BEHIND THE SCENES OF WHO TAKES TRUMP’S OIL EXECUTIVE MEETING AFTER MADURO’S OPERATION
President Donald Trump during a meeting with executives from U.S. oil companies in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, January 9, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Trump said his administration will determine which companies will be allowed to operate in Venezuela, according to Reuters.
“Our giant oil companies will spend at least $100 billion of their money, not the government’s money, to rebuild capacity and necessary infrastructure,” Trump said. “Venezuela has also agreed that the United States will immediately begin refining and selling up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, which will continue indefinitely.”
The president said the efforts would directly benefit American consumers, noting that gasoline prices are already low nationwide, with some drivers paying less than $2 per gallon.
ENERGY SECRETARY SAYS CHEVRON EXPANSION, US OIL’S ROLE IN VENEZUELA COULD COME ‘FAIR SOON’
U.S. oil company executives during a meeting with President Donald Trump (not pictured) in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, January 9, 2026. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“One of the things the United States is going to get out of this is even lower energy prices. People are now getting gas for $1.99, $1.96, $1.95, $1.92,” Trump said. “It used to be $3.5, $4, $5 a gallon. Think about that. $1.99.”
The lineup of oil companies at the meeting included Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Continental, Halliburton, HKN, Valero, Marathon, Shell, Trafigura, Vitol Americas, Repsol, Eni, Aspect Holdings, Tallgrass, Raisa Energy and Hilcorp.
Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday that Venezuelan oil will be transferred immediately to the US, saying: “Interim authorities in Venezuela will transfer between 30 and 50 MILLION barrels of high-quality sanctioned oil to the United States of America.
TRUMP MEETS OIL EXECUTIVES OVER VENEZUELA ON FRIDAY
Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife are being held in New York City, where they will be tried for a number of alleged crimes. (Matias Delacroix/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“This oil will be sold at market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure that it is used for the benefit of the people of Venezuela and the United States! I have asked Secretary of Energy Chris Wright to immediately implement this plan. It will be taken by storage ships and delivered directly to the unloading docks in the United States.”
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Chevron is the only US oil company operating in Venezuela, while ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil had operations in the country before the regime nationalized their assets.
