US sells first batch of Venezuelan oil worth $500 million

The United States (U.S.) has completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil, valued at $500 million, since Operation Absolute Resolve, which resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

A Trump administration official said that more sales are expected in the coming days and weeks; however, the official did not disclose the details about the first sale.

Since the arrest of Maduro, President Trump has repeatedly reiterated his commitment to take over the Venezuelan oil reserves and allow American companies to invest in drilling infrastructure and sell oil.

He said the U.S. plans to sell 30 million to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil in partnership with U.S. companies.

The White House has hailed an alleged energy deal with Venezuela, stating that it will benefit both American and Venezuelan people. White House spokeswoman Taylor Ross stated, “President Trump is facilitating discussions with oil companies that are ready and willing to make unprecedented investments to restore Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.”

This comes after Trump hosted top oil executives at the White House and presented a strategy to sell millions of barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil and control the resulting proceeds.

The proceeds from oil will be split among the U.S. government, U.S. oil companies and Venezuela; however, Trump has imposed one condition on Venezuela, that it will have to buy only American products from the oil proceeds.