U.S. energy secretary says American firms are already investing in Venezuelan oil; U.S. will not give security guarantees

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, speaking from a Chevron crude‑processing facility in Venezuela, said American energy firms are already stepping up investments and outlined how commercial deals and legal reforms could restore production and funnel oil revenues into economic recovery.

"As we stand here right now, this is a major crude processing facility," Wright said, and added that "north of a $100,000,000 will be invested to upgrade and increase the throughput capacity of this facility." He told the interviewer, Boris, that one field at which they were present could double output in 12 to 18 months and "probably quintuple it over the next five years."

The interview began with a reference to President Trumps public statement praising improved U.S. relations with Venezuela and saying oil revenues would help Venezuelans. Boris asked Wright to reconcile that diplomatic posture with repeated public statements by interim leader Delcy Rodríguez that Nicolás Maduro remains the countrys legitimate leader. Wright said that the interim leaders long-term role should be decided by Venezuelans and that U.S. policy focuses on steering reforms such as property rights, rule of law and infrastructure improvements.

Wright acknowledged Venezuelas deep fiscal and humanitarian problems and cited a large refugee flow, saying, "we've had 8,000,000 people flee the country," as part of the rationale for encouraging rapid investment. When pressed whether investments before free elections would undercut leverage to enforce reforms, Wright said investment is already happening and that control over the flow of oil revenue is itself a form of leverage.

On corporate risk and past allegations of corruption, Boris cited comments by ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance that the companys priority is recovering significant debt owed by Venezuela. Wright said he expects many commercial negotiations will include debt restructuring or swaps that convert outstanding claims into assets or operating rights in Venezuela rather than immediate cash repayment.

He was explicit that the U.S. government will not provide physical or economic security guarantees to companies: "the U.S. government is not gonna offer physical security or economic security," Wright said, adding that international firms operate in varying risk environments and that Venezuelas business climate "is meaningfully better" now than it was months earlier. He also pointed to a new Venezuelan hydrocarbon law and said additional Venezuelan legal reforms are likely as the government incentivizes investment.

Boris pressed on humanitarian spillovers, saying U.S. control over Venezuelan oil interests has halted oil shipments to Cuba and worsened daily blackouts there. Wright acknowledged similar humanitarian concerns in Cuba and suggested diplomacy, rather than military force or U.S. taxpayer funds, would be the route to address regional energy and geopolitical problems.

The interview closed with Wright saying negotiations and announcements about debt and investment deals are expected in the coming months and years, and with no immediate, formal U.S. guarantees to companies.