The Daily Journal.— U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday avoided taking a position on Venezuela’s potential withdrawal from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), saying the decision rests with Caracas despite the new energy agreement that deepens oil cooperation between the two countries.
“Well, I don’t know. That’s up to them,” Trump said during a press conference in the Oval Office when reporters asked whether Venezuela should leave the oil group following the announcement of the agreement reached over the weekend.
His comments come as Washington and Caracas move forward with a new energy cooperation framework that calls for greater participation by U.S. companies in Venezuela’s oil industry.
Trump said the United States currently has “a great relationship with Venezuela” and described ties between the two countries as a partnership centered on oil production and trade.
“It’s a team, in a certain sense. And we’re taking out millions and millions of barrels of oil, which are going to Houston, going to Louisiana, going to many different places in the United States and all over the world,” he said.
Trump expects higher revenues for both countries
The president defended the energy agreement and said the expansion of oil activity will bring economic benefits to both the United States and Venezuela.
“We’re making a fortune, and they’re making a fortune. They’re starting to make real money,” he said.
Trump said major U.S. oil companies are preparing to expand their presence in Venezuela and specifically mentioned Exxon and Chevron.
“We have Exxon going in. We have Chevron going in. We have our big oil companies going in. And everybody’s bidding,” he said.
The president offered no additional details about the projects the companies would develop or the terms of their potential participation in the new oil fields.
Venezuelan crude will go to U.S. refineries
Trump also said the United States will process oil production linked to the agreement, noting that several U.S. refineries can handle heavy crude such as Venezuela’s.
“It all comes to the U.S. for refinery. Our plants, our refineries are designed specifically for the Venezuelan heavy oil,” he said.
The president highlighted the advantages that heavy crude offers for certain industrial processes and petroleum products.
“Heavy oil is a good thing, not a bad thing,” he said, citing its use in products such as asphalt and materials for road construction.
Trump once again described the energy deal as unprecedented and said the arrival of major private companies will help develop Venezuelan oil assets that, according to him, had remained underused.
“It was a very good deal for Venezuela, because you have the most powerful companies, the wealthiest companies in the world, going into Venezuela, where before it was just this incredible value that was sitting there dormant,” he said.
Although Trump avoided taking a position on Venezuela’s continued membership in OPEC, he made clear that the new energy relationship between Washington and Caracas aims to increase production and channel a significant share of Venezuelan crude into the U.S. market and refining infrastructure.
