The Trump administration’s first sale of Venezuelan oil is valued at $500 million, an administration official told Semafor.
The sale marks an initial milestone in the administration’s stewardship of Venezuela after the US ouster of its former leader Nicolás Maduro 11 days ago. President Donald Trump has indicated that the US would effectively run Venezuela for an indeterminable amount of time and take control of up to 50 million barrels of its oil — marketing and selling it while distributing the proceeds back to Venezuela in an arrangement with little precedent.
Trump signed an executive order on Friday that provided some details on how the US plans to block courts or creditors from tapping any revenue from those oil sales. Venezuela owes international bondholders, oil companies and others as much as $170 billion — one reason why US firms have been reluctant to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
Trump told ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance last week that the US is “not going to look at what people lost in the past, because that was their fault.”
The administration official told Semafor that the interim leadership in Venezuela, led by former Maduro No. 2 Delcy Rodríguez, has “fully cooperated” since the US-Venezuelan energy deal was announced last week, adding that the US has “leverage” through sanctions and oil sales.
Revenue from the oil sales is currently being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, as indicated in Friday’s order, according to the administration official. The main account, according to a second senior administration official, is located in Qatar.
The second official described Qatar as a neutral location where money can flow freely with US approval and without risk of seizure. Trump’s order noted that at least some of the revenue would be held in US Treasury accounts.
“President Trump brokered a historic energy deal with Venezuela, immediately following the arrest of narcoterrorist Nicolás Maduro, that will benefit the American and Venezuelan people,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Semafor in a statement.
Rogers added that the administration is continuing “positive, ongoing discussions” with oil companies about Venezuela. Despite skepticism from many oil companies about the viability of investing there, Trump’s advisers remain confident that more deals — and sales — will come to fruition.
Chevron, the lone major US oil company that had stayed operational in Venezuela, believes it can expand production by 50% within the next two years, the administration official said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the Economic Club of Minnesota last week that his department “will oversee the accounts” and “then, at the president’s direction [and] Secretary Rubio’s direction … be in charge of the disbursement that goes back into Venezuela.”
“Treasury’s role will be making sure the funds get to the proper place,” Bessent added. “We’re the bankers here; we don’t direct the funds.”
Asked to provide further clarity on the accounts, a Treasury spokesperson told Semafor: “The United States Treasury is fully committed to supporting President Trump’s efforts on behalf of the people of Venezuela.” The spokesperson declined to comment further.
