Jan 7 (Reuters) – The U.S. government wants to get Venezuelan oil flowing again, depositing funds into U.S.-controlled accounts and creating conditions for U.S. oil companies to enter the country, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday.
Wright said he was talking to U.S. oil companies to see what conditions they would need to gain access to the South American country, adding that he hoped to sell Venezuelan oil to U.S. refineries.
He was speaking at the Goldman Sachs Energy, Clean Technology and Utilities Conference in Miami.
Over the weekend, US President Donald Trump said the United States would “take control” of Venezuela after US forces overthrew President Nicolás Maduro.
U.S. oil executives are expected to visit the White House later this week to discuss ways to revive Venezuela’s tattered oil industry, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Nathan Crooks and Sheila Dang in Miami and Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
