Bessent: Independent Oil Companies Eager to Enter Venezuela After Sanctions Lifted
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that his agency plans to eventually lift sanctions against Venezuela and is receiving significant interest from independent oil companies that want to reenter the market.
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Speaking to the Economic Club of Minnesota, Bessent said Treasury will be acting “at the direction” of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lift certain sanctions, although he didn’t say when that would be. He also said Treasury may simultaneously impose new Venezuela-related sanctions on certain people or entities.
“We will be unsanctioning various entities [and] members,” Bessent said, and “we may sanction more people.”
He also said Treasury will “oversee” sales of Venezuelan oil that the U.S. has seized (see 2601080016) and then lead the “disbursement” of the funds from those sales back to Venezuela “to help feed the people, pay the police, keep the government running.”
Although the larger oil companies that “move slowly” so far haven’t expressed interest in returning to Venezuela, Bessent added, independent oil companies are eager to enter the market.
“I can tell you that the independent oil companies and individuals, the wildcatters -- our phones ringing off the hook,” he said. “They want to get to Venezuela yesterday.”
In addition, Bessent said Chevron, which received a limited authorization in 2025 to carry out certain oil-related activities with Venezuela, is “at the front of the pack.” He said he has been in contact with Chevron’s CEO for the “past year, just in dealing with the sanctions regime.”
Although building back Venezuela's oil industry infrastructure to previous levels is expected to take time (see 2601080023), Bessent said Energy Secretary Chris Wright believes Venezuela could “get the production up 50 [percent] or 60 percent” within “several months.”
“So maybe by beginning of summer,” Bessent said.
Rubio said earlier this month that the U.S. doesn’t plan to ease sanctions against Venezuela until the country takes steps to “further the national interest of the United States” and create a better future for the Venezuelan people (see 2601050056).