Venezuela sits on one of the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but after decades of economic upheaval and more recently, U.S. sanctions and a naval blockade, little of it is actually sold on the global market.
And President Donald Trump has not been shy about wanting control of that gold mine … or rather, oil mine. It’s part of the reason he ordered the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife on Jan. 3.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration is meeting with U.S. oil companies later this week to discuss their interest in providing the years of work and upward of $120 billion in investment experts estimate will be needed to boost crude oil production and exports from Venezuela.
The U.S. is the world’s leading producer of oil, and Texas leads the country’s production. So what does the sudden U.S. effort to drill Venezuelan oil mean for the Texas economy and its oil industry?
Not much, for now. Getting U.S. companies to produce Venezuelan oil is going to require “a massive infusion of capital and that has to be acquired from willing investors,” according to Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association. “Considering the circumstances globally … that tells me it’s going to be years in the making.”
U.S. and Texas oil companies have largely been silent regarding Trump’s insistence that they would fund the rebirth of Venezuela’s oil industry. Chevron, headquartered in Houston, is the only U.S. company still operating in Venezuela.
