• Trump says oil firms will be reimbursed “by us or through revenue” for Venezuela infrastructure repairs
• Energy experts estimate reviving Venezuelan oil sector requires $100 billion over a decade
• Major oil companies remain skeptical of investing without political stability guarantees

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — President Donald Trump floated the possibility of using taxpayer funds to reimburse energy companies for rebuilding Venezuela‘s deteriorating oil infrastructure following the military operation that ousted Nicolás Maduro, raising questions about the financial burden American citizens could bear for the ambitious undertaking.

Reimbursement Plan Lacks Specifics

In an exclusive NBC News interview Monday, Trump acknowledged substantial costs ahead while declining to specify which funding mechanism would be used. The president said oil companies spending billions on infrastructure repairs would “get reimbursed by us or through revenue,” leaving unclear whether Trump oil companies reimbursement would come from taxpayers or future oil sales.

“A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue.”

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The Trump oil companies reimbursement proposal comes as his administration faces skepticism over congressional authorization for such a massive nation-building project in Venezuela, with opponents warning the intervention may violate international law.

Energy Secretary Meeting With Oil Executives

Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to meet with executives from Exxon, ConocoPhillips and Chevron this week at the Goldman Sachs Energy Conference in Miami, according to Bloomberg News. Wright will serve as a point person for the administration’s broader campaign to rebuild Venezuela oil infrastructure, a White House official confirmed Monday.

The three companies have exhibited caution regarding Trump oil companies reimbursement proposals, with industry sources telling CNN that oil executives remain unlikely to commit significant capital without resolving security concerns and legal protections.

Companies Scarred By Previous Nationalizations

ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips experienced asset seizures when former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez nationalized their operations around 2006. ConocoPhillips is still attempting to recover an estimated $12 billion from the prior nationalization, while ExxonMobil seeks almost $2 billion, according to Reuters.

“Venezuela is the country that has seen the most expropriation cases brought against it.”

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Chevron remains the only major American oil company currently operating in Venezuela, producing about 140,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter under a limited Treasury Department waiver. A Chevron spokesperson declined to comment on expansion plans, stating the company “remains focused on the safety and wellbeing of our employees.”

Expert Estimates Dwarf Trump Timeline

Trump claimed operations could be “up and running” in fewer than 18 months, a timeframe energy industry experts called unrealistic. Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin America energy program at Rice University, told CBS News that restoring Venezuela oil infrastructure to 4 million barrels per day would require at least a decade and more than $100 billion in investment.

“The estimate is that in order for Venezuela to increase from one million barrels per day to four million barrels, it will take about a decade and about a hundred billion dollars of investment.”

Years of corruption, underinvestment, fires and thefts have left the country’s crude facilities in tatters, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Venezuela’s pipeline network, consisting of 25 operational pipelines prone to daily spills, hasn’t been upgraded in approximately 50 years.

Venezuela Holds Largest Proven Reserves

Venezuela sits on an estimated 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, approximately 17 percent of global reserves and more than Saudi Arabia’s 267 billion barrels, according to OPEC data. Despite these massive reserves, the country currently produces roughly 1 million barrels per day, less than 1 percent of global output.

Production peaked at 3.5 million barrels per day in the late 1990s but declined significantly under Hugo Chávez and Maduro due to mismanagement, underinvestment and U.S. sanctions. Most Venezuelan crude is “extra-heavy,” requiring higher technical expertise and specialized refining capabilities that U.S. Gulf Coast refineries possess.

Political Uncertainty Complicates Investment

White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers insisted in a statement that “all of our oil companies are ready and willing to make big investments in Venezuela that will rebuild their oil infrastructure.” However, industry sources contradicted this claim, with Reuters reporting that oil giants had no prior knowledge of the military operation and held no talks with the administration since Maduro‘s removal.

David Goldwyn, chairman of the energy advisory group at the nonpartisan Atlantic Council, told CBS News that companies require “a stable physical environment, which is highly uncertain at this point” before committing capital.

Maduro was arraigned in New York Monday and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and weapons charges, declaring himself an “innocent” and “decent man” while the situation in Caracas remains fluid regarding who controls the government.

Will American taxpayers ultimately foot the bill for reviving Venezuela’s oil industry, or will future revenue streams prove sufficient to reimburse energy companies willing to take the risk?

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