U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to meet with oil industry executives this week to discuss reviving Venezuela’s energy sector following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, according to a Bloomberg report.
Wright will attend the Goldman Sachs Energy, Clean Technology and Utilities Conference in Miami, which will be attended by executives from Chevron and ConocoPhillips, among others. Chevron is currently the only oil supermajor maintaining operations in the South American country.
U.S. President Donald Trump has pledged to rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry, which has suffered years of underinvestment and neglect, leading to declines in output in the country that holds the world’s largest crude oil reserves. Trump has indicated that the revival effort could require billions of dollars, though it remains unclear how willing foreign companies would be to undertake such a challenging investment.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS that companies would need “certain guarantees and conditions” before investing in Venezuela.
