(Evana, an oil tanker, is docked at El Palito port in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, Dec. 21, 2025. | Matias Delacroix/AP)
Trump Ties Venezuela Compensation to U.S. Oil Investment
Administration Sets Conditions for Recovering Seized Assets
The Trump administration has made its position clear to U.S. oil and gas companies seeking compensation for assets seized by Venezuela: reimbursement will require a return to the country and substantial reinvestment in its deteriorated petroleum infrastructure.
According to a report by Politico, U.S. officials told energy executives in recent weeks that companies hoping to recover losses tied to confiscated rigs, pipelines, and facilities must commit capital and operational expertise to rebuilding Venezuela’s oil sector.
“They’re saying, ‘you gotta go in if you want to play and get reimbursed,’” one industry official familiar with the discussions told the outlet.
The conversations reportedly began more than a week before the dramatic U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, an event that significantly escalated Washington’s posture toward Caracas.
Infrastructure Decay Complicates Potential Return
While the administration is pushing for U.S. energy companies to re-enter Venezuela, industry officials have raised serious concerns about the condition of the country’s oil infrastructure.
According to sources cited by Politico, facilities have deteriorated to such an extent that companies cannot yet determine what would be required to safely restart operations. Aging equipment, lack of maintenance, and years of underinvestment have left many assets functionally inoperable.
“The infrastructure currently there is so dilapidated that no one at these companies can adequately assess what is needed to make it operable,” the source said.
Venezuela once held one of the world’s most productive oil industries, but years of sanctions, mismanagement, and nationalization policies hollowed out production capacity and export reliability.
Trump Signals Expectation of Heavy U.S. Energy Spending
President Donald Trump publicly reinforced the administration’s approach during a televised address following Maduro’s capture.
“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure — the oil infrastructure — and start making money for the country,” Trump said.
The comments suggest the administration views private-sector investment as a central tool in stabilizing Venezuela’s energy sector while resolving long-standing disputes over seized American assets.
For now, energy companies remain cautious, weighing political risk, capital exposure, and operational uncertainty as Washington presses for renewed engagement.
SOURCE: Political