Trump on possible Venezuela departure from Opec: ‘It’s up to them’

[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump said on Monday (Aug 31) that it is up to Venezuela to decide whether it should leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), of which it has been part for more than 60 years.

“Well, I don’t know. That’s up to them. I mean, that’s going to be up to them,” Trump told reporters following a Bloomberg report last week saying Venezuela was considering whether to leave the organisation, only months after the United Arab Emirates’ withdrawal.

Washington has maintained a strict oversight of Venezuela’s oil industry since US forces captured then-President Nicolas Maduro in January. Shortly after, both countries signed a flagship oil supply pact involving global trading houses that has allowed to boost Venezuela’s crude exports to the US.

On Friday, Trump announced an even larger deal for the US to lock in 17 large oilfields in Venezuela that contain some 64 billion barrels of proved crude reserves, a fifth of the country’s total, and could secure up to 1.5 million barrels per day of supply to the US.

Trump said on Monday that US majors ExxonMobil and Chevron were among companies committed to invest in the country, without elaborating. REUTERS