'Money controlled by me': Trump announces Venezuela to turn over 30-50 million barrels of oil to US

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that the interim government of Venezuela would turn over 30-50 million barrels of "high-quality, sanctioned oil" to the United States. In a post, he said that the oil would be sold at market prices, and the money would be controlled by him. 

"This oil would be sold at its market price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States!" 

He further said that he asked US Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan immediately, adding that the oil will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to the unloading docks in the US.  Soon after the announcement, US crude futures fell 1.3 per cent to $56.39 per barrel. 

Read Trump's full post here

The announcement came days after the US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from Caracas and took them to New York, where they are facing charges in a federal drug-trafficking conspiracy indictment. 

Moreover, Trump also plans to meet representatives from major US oil companies -- Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Exxon Mobil -- and other domestic producers at the White House on Friday. In this meeting, he will discuss "making significant investments in Venezuela's oil sector". 

Previously, Trump has said that American oil companies will end up investing billions to rehabilitate Venezuela's oil production capabilities. At present, Chevron is the only US company to operate in Venezuela. 

In the mid-2000s, former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez nationalised the assets of ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil. 

As per Bloomberg, the volume defined by Trump would be approximately 30-50 days' worth of Venezuelan oil production before the capture of Maduro and his wife. 

Venezuela holds the world's largest oil reserves at around 300 billion barrels, but sanctions and infrastructure decay have rendered it underground, unusable, and politically explosive. Due to this, Saudi Arabia remains the market leader with more than 267 million barrels.