By Micah Jonah
January 7, 2026
United States President, Donald Trump has announced that Venezuela will turn over between 30 and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the United States.
Trump said the oil, held in storage due to Washington’s embargo on Venezuelan exports, would be sold at market prices, and that he would control the resulting revenues to ensure the funds benefit both the people of Venezuela and the United States.
He added that he had directed Energy Secretary, Chris Wright to implement the plan immediately. “It will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States,” Trump said on his platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday.
The announcement follows Trump’s pledge to reclaim Venezuela’s oil reserves, revive the country’s energy industry – following the abduction of Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro. Trump also stated that U.S. oil companies are ready to invest billions of dollars in rebuilding Venezuela’s infrastructure.
Chevron, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips, the three largest U.S. oil companies; have not issued direct statements on Trump’s plans, however are reportedly scheduled to meet with the President to discuss about Venezuela later this week.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest known oil reserves, however, years of underinvestment, mismanagement, corruption, and U.S. sanctions under Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez have reduced the country’s oil production to less than 1 percent of global supply.
Currently, Chevron is the only major U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, producing about 150,000 barrels per day.
Restoring production to past levels would require significant investment, could take years.
