Azernews.Az

Akbar Novruz

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The US administration has announced that it carried out its first oil sale from Venezuela following the military operation and the seizure of Nicolás Maduro in early January, with the deal reportedly valued at $500 million, Azernews reports.

White House officials said additional oil sales are planned in the coming days and weeks as Washington moves to reshape Venezuela’s energy sector after the operation.

The proceeds from the initial sale are being held in bank accounts in Qatar, which US officials have described as a “neutral zone” under American control.

Earlier, President Donald Trump stated that major US oil companies would invest at least $100 billion to help restore Venezuela’s collapsed energy infrastructure. According to Trump, the initiative is aimed at reducing energy prices in the United States while boosting Venezuela’s oil production by around 50 per cent within 18 months.

“President Trump’s team is facilitating positive, ongoing discussions with oil companies that are ready and willing to make unprecedented investments to restore Venezuela’s oil infrastructure,” she continued. “President Trump is protecting our Western Hemisphere from being taken advantage of by narcoterrorists, drug traffickers, and foreign adversaries.”

Details of the sale were first reported by Semafor. The news outlet also reported that revenue from the deal is being kept in bank accounts controlled by the U.S. government, including one based in Qatar.

In the aftermath of Maduro’s capture, Trump said that the U.S. would “run the country” until a “proper and judicious transition” of power took place. He indicated that the U.S. would take control of the oil industry in the South American nation. Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. plans to seize and sell up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil, the funds from which would be disbursed, by the U.S. government, “in a way that benefits the Venezuelan people, not corruption, not the regime.”