Politics
Trump urges US oil giants to repair Venezuela’s ‘rotting’ energy industry
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.”
DUBAI: Dubai has announced the implementation of a new public safety law introducing stricter regulations for public spaces and events, with fines ranging from AED500 ($136) to AED1 million ($272,000), authorities said.
Under the legislation, repeat violations within one year could result in fines of up to AED2 million, officials added.
The new law, which takes effect across the emirate on June 1, sets out enhanced safety requirements for public venues and gatherings.
The rules were issued by Dubai’s Ruler, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
According to the regulations, public venues and events must ensure safe entry and exit routes, adequate lighting, and capacity limits to prevent overcrowding.
Event organisers will be required to provide firefighting equipment, emergency evacuation plans, first aid facilities, and trained security personnel.
Compliance with safety instructions at public venues has been made mandatory.
The law also requires adherence to designated swimming times at beaches and prohibits access to restricted areas.
Possession of explosives or fireworks without a permit is banned, as is the use and transport of hazardous or flammable materials.
India has allowed an Iranian warship to dock as a humanitarian gesture, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Saturday, after the US sank another Iranian navy vessel off neighbouring Sri Lanka.
The Lavan docked at India’s southern port of Kochi on Wednesday, the same day the US submarine struck Iranian navy frigate Dena, after an urgent request from Tehran, an Indian government source told Reuters.
US President Donald Trump has said destroying the Iranian navy is one aim of the war he and Israel launched against the Islamic Republic a week ago.
The Lavan – an amphibious landing vessel, according to the US Naval Institute’s online news site – and two other ships “were coming in for a fleet review and then they got, in a way, caught on the wrong side of the events,” Jaishankar told the annual Raisina Dialogue event.
“I think we really approached it from the point of view of humanity, of other than whatever the legal issues were,” he said. “I think we did the right thing.”
At least 87 people were killed in the US attack on the Dena in Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone, 19 nautical miles off the coast, outside its maritime boundaries.
India received the docking request for the Lavan on February 28, the day the Iran war started, the source said late on Friday, adding that the request “was urgent as the vessel had developed technical issues”.
Its 183 crew members have been accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi, said the source, who asked not to be identified citing confidentiality.
The Dena was on its way back from a naval exercise organised by India, according to the drill’s website and Sri Lankan officials.
Sri Lankan authorities said on Friday that they were escorting the Iranian naval ship Booshehr to a harbour on the eastern coast and moving most of its crew to a navy camp near Colombo.
- Iran to suspend strikes on neighbours unless attacks from them.
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- Iran envoy says 1,332 Iranian civilians killed in war.
Israel and Iran traded attacks on Saturday as the war entered a second week, while the Islamic Republic made an unusual apology to neighbouring states for its “actions”, apparently seeking to calm regional anger at Iranian strikes on Gulf civilian targets.
“I personally apologise to neighbouring countries that were affected by Iran’s actions,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, urging them not to join US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
He said Iran’s temporary leadership council had agreed to suspend attacks on nearby states unless strikes on Iran originated from their territory.
Hours later, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said their drones struck a US air combat centre at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters could not independently verify that report.
Huge explosions were heard in several parts of the Iranian capital, state media reported.
Gulf states hit by drones and missiles
The US-Israeli war on Iran has already spilled beyond Iran’s borders, as Tehran has responded by hitting Israel and Gulf Arab states hosting US military installations and Israel has launched fresh attacks in Lebanon.
The UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have all reported drone and missile attacks over the past week.
Gulf states voiced immediate outrage that their civilian infrastructure — hotels, ports and oil facilities — were struck despite their having had no part in the US-Israeli attacks.
How far Pezeshkian’s statement reflects a decision to back off by Iran, or if it should be read as a warning that Tehran remains ready to strike across the region, is not yet clear, with some strikes still reportedly directed at Gulf states on Saturday morning.
Iran had mended fences with its Gulf neighbours in recent years, including with former regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia — a diplomatic campaign that imploded as the Revolutionary Guards launched a blitz of drones and missiles over the past week.
No deal without surrender, says Trump
While Gulf states host US military bases, they had told Washington they would not allow these to be used for any attacks on Iran.
Iran’s apparent strategy of maximum chaos has driven up the costs of the conflict by raising energy prices, hurting global business and logistics links and shaking trust in the stability of a critical region for the world’s economy.
Pezeshkian’s remarks come as diplomatic prospects for an end to hostilities appear bleak, with US President Donald Trump demanding Tehran’s “unconditional surrender”.
“There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday.
“After that, and the selection of a GREAT & ACCEPTABLE Leader(s), we, and many of our wonderful and very brave allies and partners, will work tirelessly to bring Iran back from the brink of destruction, making it economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before,” he added.
The US-Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,332 Iranian civilians and wounded thousands, according to Iran’s UN ambassador, Amir Saeid Iravani.
Iranian attacks have killed 11 people in Israel, and at least six US service members have been killed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences to Pezeshkian over the numerous civilian casualties resulting from “the armed Israeli-American aggression against Iran” and called for an immediate halt to hostilities, the Kremlin said.
UAE president says country is well and ‘no easy prey’ in first public comments since Iran strikes
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