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Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told FOX Business in an exclusive interview from Venezuela on Wednesday that the relationship between the U.S. and the South American country is moving at “Trump speed,” as their new energy partnership is on track to a “golden age of abundance.”
Burgum told FOX Business that “you can’t argue with geography,” as American companies are showing they want to invest in Venezuela. He said this would have positive impacts on energy affordability in the U.S. and job creation in both the U.S. and Venezuela.
“If you’re shipping oil to a Gulf of America refinery, it’s five days [from Venezuela]. They were shipping some of their product for 40 days around the world,” he said of Venezuela. “It is so beneficial to both the U.S. and Venezuela for us to have a tight synergistic partnership around energy and around minerals just like we did 25 years ago.”
“This literally could be one of the richest countries in the world, and to have them as our friend, our ally and our trading partner, that is absolutely terrific,” Burgum said, noting that the relationship is what the U.S. needs to keep energy prices down for Americans.
VENEZUELA RELEASES ALL KNOWN AMERICAN DETAINEES FOLLOWING MADURO CAPTURE AND GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER
Burgum said he is optimistic after meeting with Venezuela’s leadership and companies.
“When the U.S. is entering a gold age under President Trump, allies like Venezuela become a strong partner, our economies get back to the way they used to be integrated, they can ride right on our coattails and have their own golden age of abundance,” he said.
Burgum was meeting with oil and gas executives, including Chevron and Shell, along with Venezuelan business leaders during his trip to highlight critical mineral partnerships.
TRUMP SIGNALS LONG ROAD AHEAD IN VENEZUELA IN HIS BOLDEST INTERVENTIONIST MOVE YET
On Thursday, Shell signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Venezuelan government to start liquified natural gas (LNG) production in the Dragon gas field.
Two American service companies, KPR and Baker, and one Venezuelan company, Vepica, will also sign onto the memorandum, so work can begin on oil and natural gas production.
A senior administration official told FOX Business the LNG from Venezuela could eventually help support power to Europe.
The Trump administration wants to expand access to oil production in the country, ultimately changing the course of global energy supply chains and reducing reliance on China.
Burgum’s visit comes weeks after the Trump administration completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil, valued at $500 million.
The deal comes after Trump announced interim authorities in Venezuela would be turning over between 30 million and 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the U.S., worth about $2.8 billion at current market prices.
Venezuela holds more than 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, nearly quadruple those of the U.S.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom and Fox Business’ Ed Lawrence contributed to this report.
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