'For benefit of both...": US unveils bold 'sell-and-store' blueprint for Venezuela’s oil wealth

New Delhi:  In a decisive move to reshape global energy geopolitics, the Trump administration has announced a plan to take direct control of Venezuelan oil sales. Under the new strategy, the United States will act as the primary marketer for the nation’s crude, holding all resulting proceeds in US-based accounts to ensure the funds are shielded from international creditors.

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. conference in Miami on Wednesday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright outlined a two-phase operation. The immediate priority is to drain Venezuela’s overflowing storage tanks, which have reached capacity due to the long-standing US blockade. Without this "clearance," Venezuelan production risked a total shutdown.

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"We're just going to get that crude moving again and sell it," Wright said. "We're going to market the crude coming out of Venezuela – first this backed-up stored oil and then indefinitely going forward we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela."

2.8 billion dollar injection

The scale of the initial operation is massive. President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday evening that Venezuela would relinquish approximately 50 million barrels of oil for the US to bring to market. At current prices, this cache is valued at roughly 2.8 billion dollars. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed during a Wednesday briefing that the marketing process is already underway.

Rebuilding the ruins

The plan isn't just about sales, it’s about a total industrial overhaul. The administration, in a statement, said it is pushing the US energy giants to return to Venezuela to rebuild its "decaying" infrastructure. To facilitate this, the Department of Energy is selectively rolling back sanctions, clearing a path for American engineering and capital to revive flagging production levels.

The treasury's lockbox

To prevent the money from being seized by Venezuela’s many global creditors, the revenue will be funnelled into US Treasury accounts. While Secretary Wright was firm that "we’re not stealing anyone’s oil," he emphasised that the funds are being held "in the name of Venezuela" for the ultimate benefit of both the American and Venezuelan people.

"We're not stealing anyone's oil," Wright said during an interview with CNBC. "We're going to restart the selling of Venezuelan oil on global crude markets, put it in accounts in the name of Venezuela and bring those funds back into Venezuela for the benefit of the Venezuelan people."

Notably, these funds will not be used immediately to settle old scores. Despite massive claims from companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips, whose assets were nationalised under the Hugo Chávez regime, Wright characterised those repayments as a "long-term issue," focusing instead on immediate market stabilisation and humanitarian benefit.

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The Chevron Model

In Caracas, the state-run Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) indicated that negotiations with Washington are active. The goal is to establish a framework similar to the one currently held by Chevron Corp., which remains the only major US oil company currently operating within the country.