Venezuela would provide 30 to 50 million barrels of high-quality oil to the United States at market price, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, just days after US forces conducted a military operation in Caracas and captured President Nicolas Maduro.
"This oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!" Trump said in a social media post.
The oil will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to unloading docks in the US, he added.
According to an Associated Press report, the White House is organising an Oval Office meeting on Friday with oil company executives regarding Venezuela. Representatives of Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips are likely to attend the meeting, it said.
The new deal is expected to divert supplies from China while helping Venezuela avoid deeper oil production cuts. The agreement is also a strong sign that the Venezuelan government is responding to Trump's demand that they open up to US oil companies or risk more military intervention.
Earlier, shortly after the US operation in Caracas, Trump had stated that his administration would now oversee Venezuela's policy and was pressing the country's leaders to open its vast oil reserves to American energy companies.
According to a Reuters report, US crude prices fell more than 1.5 per cent after Trump's new announcement, with the agreement expected to increase the volume of Venezuelan oil exported to the US.
