News - World: The US has finalized its first $500 million sale of Venezuelan oil, claiming billions are needed to “revive” the country’s energy sector following its illegal military intervention in Carcass.

According to reports, the first shipment has already been completed, with further sales expected in the coming weeks.

More details about the first oil sale were unclear, however, Reuters reported that Venezuelan crude oil was being sold at discount prices to traders in Canada.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s efforts to leverage Venezuelan oil have run into resistance from major US energy firms, which have questioned the feasibility and legal framework for large‑scale investment.

Oil executives gathered at the White House on Friday described Venezuela’s oil sector as “uninvestable” under current conditions, citing legal and commercial obstacles.

Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, a major US multinational oil company, told US administration officials that Venezuela’s existing legal and investment frameworks do not allow American firms to do business in the country.

“There are a number of legal and commercial frameworks that would have to be established to even understand what kind of returns we would get on the investment,” he said.

Several other US oil executives also expressed reluctance in doing business in the Bolivarian state.

Decades ago, Venezuela’s oil industry was nationalized under leftist governments, most notably during the administration of former president Hugo Chávez, transferring control from foreign companies into the hands of the Venezuelan state and its national oil company.

As the Trump administration’s efforts to bring US oil executives back into Venezuela’s energy sector met with reluctance, Trump dismissed their hesitation as insincere, telling officials that executives were merely “playing cute” instead of investing in the country’s oil infrastructure.

Trump, who has portrayed himself as the new leader of Venezuela following illegal US military aggression in the country, in which US forces kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, said US oil companies would invest at least $100 billion in Venezuela’s oil industry to “very rapidly rebuild its dilapidated infrastructure.”

White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers reiterated that the administration was facilitating ongoing discussions with companies “ready and willing to make unprecedented investments to restore Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.”

Source: Press TV