Jan 7 (Reuters) – Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday the United States government wants to get Venezuelan oil flowing again, deposit money into U.S.-controlled accounts and create conditions for U.S. oil companies to enter the country.
Wright said he was speaking to U.S. oil companies to learn what conditions would enable them to enter the South American country and added that he wanted to sell Venezuelan oil to U.S. refineries.
He was speaking at the Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech & Utilities Conference in Miami.
Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said the U.S. would “take control” of Venezuela after U.S. forces ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
U.S. oil executives are expected to visit the White House later this week to discuss ways to revive Venezuela’s tattered oil sector, Reuters had reported on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Nathan Crooks and Sheila Dang in Miami and Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
