Energy Secretary Chris Wright at the Goldman Sachs Energy, CleanTech & Utilities Conference in Miami on Wednesday January 7, 2026, said the US intends to maintain significant control over Venezuela’s oil industry, including by overseeing the sale of the country’s production “indefinitely.”
“Going forward we will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace,” Wright said.
“We need to have that leverage and that control of those oil sales to drive the changes that simply must happen in Venezuela,” said Wright, the former CEO of Liberty Energy. Wright added that the money “can flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people.”
Executives from Chevron and ConocoPhillips are attending the conference. Chevron is the only US oil major currently operating in Venezuela.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world.
Source:
Rebecca F. Elliott, NYT: US to Control Venezuela Oil Sales ‘Indefinitely,’ Energy Secretary Says https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/07/business/energy-environment/us-venezuela-oil-control.html
Spencer Kimball, CNBC: Watch Energy Secretary Chris Wright answer questions about Venezuela https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/07/watch-energy-secretary-chris-wright-answer-questions-about-venezuela-.html
