American taxpayers could reimburse oil firms for the money spent in Venezuela, claims Trump
“A tremendous amount of money will be spent, and the oil companies will spend it, and they’ll get reimbursed by us,” he hinted.
Jan. 7 2026, Published 2:52 a.m. ET
Following raids on the country, President Donald Trump is actively seeking to expand drilling in Venezuela to boost oil and gas production in the United States. According to the Energy Institute, Venezuela has the world's largest known oil reserves, with an estimated 300 billion barrels. Since rebuilding the country's oil infrastructure will require a lot of investment, Trump has floated a plan that will involve taxpayers' money funding his oil ambitions. “A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent, and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue,” he hinted.
The Guardian reported that Trump suggested that US taxpayers might pay for energy firms to fix Venezuelan oil infrastructure. He also made it clear that a large investment would be required to increase oil output. Additionally, during a forthcoming meeting in Miami, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to meet officials from ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Chevron. “The oil companies are going to go in, they are going to spend money, we are going to take back the oil, frankly, we should’ve taken back a long time ago,” Trump said. “A lot of money is coming out of the ground; we are going to be reimbursed for everything we spend,” he added, justifying his actions.
According to U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, removing sanctions might increase Venezuelan oil production by granting access to necessary machinery and technologies. He emphasized the significant business opportunity, pointing out that it could be put into action quickly. According to Trump, American businesses may expand their operations in Venezuela in the next 18 months, possibly with the help of subsidies, as reported by Reuters. However, sources indicate that the oil giants are mum about the possible interactions with the Trump administration. “Nobody in those three companies has had conversations with the White House about operating in Venezuela, pre-removal or post-removal to this point,” one of the sources stated.
The White House has yet to confirm the status of the meeting, but it did lay out a plan.“All of our oil companies are ready and willing to make big investments in Venezuela that will rebuild their oil infrastructure, which was destroyed by the illegitimate Maduro regime,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers stated. When Trump was asked if the administration had briefed any oil companies about the military operation, he said, “No. But we’ve been talking to the concept of, ‘what if we did it?’” “The oil companies were absolutely aware that we were thinking about doing something,” he added.
Trump said it was too soon to confirm anything about Venezuela's oil production. Analysts pointed out that investment plans would be hampered by issues including poor infrastructure and political unpredictability. Only Chevron remains active in Venezuela, while Exxon and ConocoPhillips have stopped oil dealings following Hugo Chávez's nationalization.
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