Overview
- In an Oval Office interview, the president said U.S. forces took oil from seven Venezuelan tankers and that the crude is being processed at refineries including in Houston.
- He declined to reveal the ships’ locations, saying he was not allowed to disclose where they are.
- An administration official told USA TODAY the first sale raised $500 million, and sources said some proceeds would be kept in an account in Qatar.
- The administration plans further transactions and has discussed selling up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude at market prices.
- Trump urged oil majors to commit about $100 billion to rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector, but executives signaled caution, with Exxon’s CEO calling the country “uninvestable” without reforms.