WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump met with executives from some of the world’s largest oil companies at the White House on Friday to discuss Venezuela, saying he wants them to invest $100 billion in the country to vastly expand its production.

Trump has named oil as the priority for his strategy for the South American nation after US forces seized its leader Nicolas Maduro in an overnight raid on its capital January 3.

“American companies will have the opportunity to rebuild Venezuela’s rotting energy infrastructure and eventually increase oil production to levels never, ever seen before,” Trump said at the opening of the meeting.

He was flanked by top executives from Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Chevron Corp and others.

“We’re going to be making the decision as to which oil companies are going to go in,” the Republican president said.

He praised an agreement with Venezuela’s interim leaders to provide 50 million barrels of crude oil to the US, where numerous refineries are specially equipped to refine it. Trump said he expects such deliveries to continue indefinitely.

“One of the things the United States gets out of this will be even lower energy prices,” he said.

US forces have continued to apprehend Venezuelan oil tankers at sea to enforce an embargo. The fifth such seizure was announced on Friday.

Trump administration officials have said they need to control Venezuela’s oil sales and revenues indefinitely to ensure the country acts in America’s interests, including by reducing corruption and drug trafficking.

Some Democratic lawmakers have criticised this approach as extortion. Industry analysts have also warned about political instability as the country treads a fine line between denouncing Maduro’s capture and appeasing the US

“Uninvestible”

Companies including Chevron, Vitol and Trafigura are competing for US licenses to market Venezuela’s existing crude oil, but oil majors are hesitant to commit to big, longer-term investments in Venezuela due to high costs and political instability.

Exxon CEO Darren Woods said at the White House meeting that the company sees Venezuela as currently “uninvestable” and needs to see significant changes to return there

“We’ve had our assets seized there twice, and so you can imagine to re-enter a third time would require some pretty significant changes,” he said.

“We’re confident that with this administration and President Trump, working hand in hand with the Venezuelan government, that those changes can be put in place,” he said.

Exxon and ConocoPhillips departed Venezuela nearly 20 years ago after their assets were nationalised.

Chevron Vice Chairman Mark Nelson said the company is committed to investments in Venezuela. Chevron the only US oil major still operating in the country.

Several smaller independents and private equity-backed players were also invited to the meeting, including some with links to Colorado, home state of Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Many of those executives praised Trump for his policies on Venezuela, and said they were prepared to invest in the country and market its oil.

Decades of underinvestment have eroded production in Venezuela, an OPEC member that boasts the world’s largest oil reserves but accounts for only about 1% of global supply.

Venezuela pumped as much as 3.5 million barrels per day in the 1970s, more than triple current levels.

Trump said at the meeting that the US would guarantee the physical and financial security of oil companies investing in Venezuela, but did not provide details.

On Friday morning, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an interview on Fox News ahead of the White House talks that there is “a real possibility” the US could use its Export-Import Bank to help fund large oil projects in Venezuela. This could reduce financial risks for companies that decide to invest there.

Trump added the ongoing discussions with oil companies are aimed at securing commitments.

“We have to get them to invest and then we have to get their money back as quickly as we can,” Trump said. “And then we can divvy it all up between Venezuela, the United States, and them. I think it’s simple. I think the formula is simple.”

• “We’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour,” says Trump.
• Trump says US must acquire Greenland, despite its military presence.
• US discussing various plans to bring Greenland under control.

The US needs to own Greenland to prevent Russia or China from occupying it in the future, President Donald Trump said on Friday.

“We are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not. Because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbour,” Trump told reporters at the White House while meeting with oil company executives.

Trump said the US must acquire Greenland, even though it already has a military presence on the island under a 1951 agreement, because such deals are not enough to guarantee Greenland’s defence. The island of 57,000 people is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

“You defend ownership. You don’t defend leases. And we’ll have to defend Greenland. If we don’t do it, China or Russia will,” Trump said.

Trump and White House officials have been discussing various plans to bring Greenland under US control, including potential use of the US military and lump sum payments to Greenlanders as part of a bid to convince them to secede from Denmark and potentially join the US.

Leaders in Copenhagen and throughout Europe have reacted with disdain in recent days to comments by Trump and other White House officials asserting their right to Greenland. The US and Denmark are NATO allies bound by a mutual defense agreement.

On Tuesday, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Britain and Denmark issued a joint statement, saying only Greenland and Denmark can decide matters regarding their relations.

Pilgrims in countries covered by Saudi Arabia’s Direct Hajj Program can now review and shortlist Nusuk Hajj service packages for the 1447 AH – 2026 season ahead of the official booking phase, Al Arabiya reported.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah said it has launched the package preference phase on the Nusuk Hajj platform, allowing prospective pilgrims to compare packages by service level, content and cost and select up to five preferred options.

The platform includes digital tools such as package comparisons, preference indicators showing popularity trends, instalment-based deposits via a digital wallet, and access to an officially approved list of service providers, according to the ministry.

It urged eligible pilgrims to register or update their information on the platform and ensure the accuracy of personal data and documentation. Pilgrims were also encouraged to add family members planning to perform Hajj under the same application to facilitate verification and speed up approvals.

The ministry reiterated that Nusuk Hajj is the sole official and approved platform for Hajj services in countries under the Direct Hajj Program and warned against dealing with unauthorised or unaccredited providers.

All deposits and bookings must be made exclusively through the Nusuk Hajj platform to ensure procedural integrity and safeguard pilgrim rights, it said.

The announcement applies only to countries included in the Direct Hajj Program, while Hajj procedures in other countries are handled through approved channels in accordance with applicable regulations, the ministry said.

The Direct Hajj Program is a Ministry of Hajj and Umrah initiative serving pilgrims from countries with Muslim minorities that do not have official missions to manage pilgrims’ affairs, enabling applicants to book packages directly through the programme’s digital platform without external intermediaries.

More information on participating countries is available at Nusuk.sa, while registration and profile updates can be completed at Hajj.nusuk.sa, the statement said.