US-led oil sales from Venezuela to bring in $5 billion in months, energy chief Wright tells NBC News

By Timothy Gardner and Sheila Dang

Feb 12 (Reuters) - Oil sales from Venezuela controlled by the U.S. have totaled over $1 billion since the capture of President Nicolas Maduro in January and in the next few months will bring in another $5 billion, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told NBC News on Thursday.

Much of the oil is being refined in U.S. refineries, and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has handed over proceeds from the sales to Venezuela’s interim government, he added.

"Sales today are over a billion dollars, and in fact, we have sort of short-term agreements over the next few months that will bring in another $5 billion," Wright said in the interview on his second day of a visit to Venezuela.

Wright toured facilities in the Orinoco heavy crude belt with officials from U.S. oil company Chevron CVX.N on Thursday, having met with Interim President and Oil Minister Delcy Rodriguez a day earlier. He is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the country since the U.S. capture and removal of Maduro six weeks ago.

Washington will control those sales and the flow of the funds "until a representative government is stood up in Venezuela," Wright said in the interview.

He added that free elections would "quite likely" take place before the end of the second Trump administration.

'ON THE ROAD TO INVESTABLE'

Wright said oil major Exxon Mobil XOM.N is in talks with the Venezuelan government and gathering data about the oil sector, even though CEO Darren Woods described the South American country as "uninvestable" during a White House meeting in January.

"They are gathering data. They are looking at things. They're a big company, so they're going to move slowly and carefully," Wright said.

He acknowledged it has been difficult for American companies to invest in Venezuela. "But it's on the road to becoming investable," he added.

Exxon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The No. 1 U.S. oil major has signaled caution about making long-term investments in Venezuela, a country it left in 2007 after its assets were expropriated.

In late January, however, Woods said that Exxon remained willing to send a technical team to Venezuela to evaluate the state of the oil infrastructure, and said he believed the Trump administration could help solve the country's problems.

Wright said in the interview that Chevron, the only U.S. oil producer currently in the country, is in the midst of large expansion plans in Venezuela, with a "huge amount of capital, dramatic growth in their oil production, pretty aggressive move for a big, tamer company."

Venezuela's oil output could grow by 30% to 40% in a year, Wright told Bloomberg TV. Current production is about 1 million barrels per day.

OIL PRODUCTION FORECASTS 'FANTASTICAL'

Achieving such a production boom would be an uphill battle from Venezuela's oilfields after years of neglect, mismanagement, under-investment and U.S. sanctions, an analyst said.

"Given the dilapidated state of Venezuela's infrastructure and the high level of uncertainty which continues for the economic, political and fiscal framework 30% growth this year is a bit fantastical," said David Goldwyn, a former U.S. State Department energy diplomat.

He estimated production growth of 30% would be possible in 12 to 18 months, only if a host of factors came true, including a stable political situation, contracts for production sharing agreements being competitive, and cooperation from state oil company PDVSA.

In another interview with CNN, Wright said Chevron was on target to double production in one of its Venezuelan oilfields over the next 12 to 18 months, and potentially quintuple it over the next five years.

Chevron did not immediately respond to a request for comment.