Trump pressures Big Oil for US$100bil Venezuela investment

Opportunistic grab: Oil tankers sail the Maracaibo Lake in Venezuela. Although Trump had previously dangled the prospect of US subsidies for overseas oil work, Burgum last Friday reiterated that Washington is unlikely to provide financial support. — AFP

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has predicted a quick agreement by major oil companies to spend at least US$100bil in Venezuela, his most direct effort yet to pressure them back into the country following the US’s brazen capture of leader Nicolás Maduro.

“We’re going to be making the decision as to which oil companies are going to go in – that we’re going to allow to go in – and cut a deal with the companies. We’ll probably do that today or very shortly thereafter,” Trump said last Friday during a White House meeting with nearly 20 industry executives.