Beijing’s moves bought it sway in Venezuela—all of it now subject to the Trump administration’s preferences in the wake of Maduro’s ouster.

President Donald Trump has portrayed his takeover of Venezuela’s oil sales as a victory for America, but when his administration wanted to sell several billion dollars’ worth of the fuel quickly, the experts it turned to were a couple of foreign trading houses.

U.S. forces have boarded and taken control of a seventh oil tanker connected with Venezuela. It's part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to take control of the South American country's oil.

Venezuela claims the world’s largest oil reserves, but most of that oil is extra-heavy, expensive to produce, and highly sensitive to prices and infrastructure.

Jan 22 (Reuters) - A sweeping proposed reform of Venezuela's hydrocarbons law would allow foreign and local companies to operate oilfields on their own through a new contract model, commercialize output and receive sale proceeds even if acting as minority partners of state company PDVSA,

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Thursday the United States will not provide on-the-ground security to oil companies operating in Venezuela as part of efforts to revitalize the country’s energy industry.

Dollars are trickling back into Venezuela, they’re the proceeds from the oil seized and by the U.S. That is helping to stabilize runaway prices in Venezuela—at least on paper. But for ordinary shoppers in Caracas,

Venezuelan lawmakers on Thursday backed a plan that would make it easier for foreign companies to participate in the country’s oil industry, in the latest move by Caracas to meet the demands of US President Donald Trump.

Despite claims of holding the world’s largest oil reserves, Venezuela’s resources are overwhelmingly extra heavy crude that is economically unviable at current prices, making a rapid production revival highly unlikely.