U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said he is closely coordinating with the Venezuelan government. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Wright said the sales would be fully supervised by the U.S. government, with proceeds deposited into accounts controlled by Washington.
"From there, those funds can flow back to Venezuela and benefit the Venezuelan people," he said, adding that the U.S. needs to maintain leverage over the Latin American country in order to "drive the changes that simply must happen in Venezuela."
Venezuela’s oil industry was once the backbone of the nation’s wealth, anchoring an economy built around energy exports. The country holds more than 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, surpassing established energy giants including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait.
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Combined with its strategic Caribbean coastline, that vast energy wealth once positioned Venezuela as an economic powerhouse before years of mismanagement and sanctions hollowed out the economy.
Wright said the administration is now working directly with Caracas to restart exports, beginning with crude currently stranded in storage and offshore floating facilities.
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A pumpjack owned by Venezuela’s state-run oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), sits idle in a state of disrepair. (Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
"The crude that’s backed up in storage and offshore floating storage, we’re going to get that crude moving again and sell it, just like we do in our businesses," he said. "Then indefinitely, going forward, we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace."
He added that the U.S. would supply the diluent, a lighter oil needed to thin Venezuela's heavy crude, to enable continued production.
"As we make progress with the government, we will enable the import of parts, equipment and services, to prevent the industry from collapsing, stabilize production and then, as quickly as possible, to start to see it grow again," Wright said.
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"In the long run, we want to create the conditions for major American companies, that were there before, maybe they weren't before, but want to go, will go in again."
"The resources are immense," he added. "This should be a wealthy, prosperous, peaceful energy powerhouse, that’s the plan."
Amanda covers the intersection of business and politics for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-admin-control-venezuelan-oil-sales-radical-shift-aimed-restarting-crude-flow