U.S. oil companies will invest billions of dollars in Venezuela's energy sector after the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump said.

The president spoke to Fox News by phone hours after he announced the U.S. had captured the president of the oil-rich South American country.

U.S. oil companies will invest billions of dollars in Venezuela's energy sector after the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump said.

'We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition,' Donald Trump said at a press conference following the capture of President…

"We have tremendous energy in that country. It's very important that we protect it. We need that for ourselves."

US president says oil majors primed to invest in rebuilding infrastructure following Maduro ouster

Trump's plan to take control of Venezuela's oil industry and ask American companies to revitalize it after capturing that country's president in a military raid isn't likely to…

Trump's plan to take control of Venezuela's oil industry and ask American companies to revitalize it after capturing that country's president in a military raid isn't likely to…

The US president believes that the ousting of Venezuelan head of state Nicolas Maduro paves the way for the return of American oil majors to a country that holds the world's…

Donald Trump has said that American oil firms will invest billions to produce oil in Venezuela.

Donald Trump now says he wants American companies to take over Venezuelan fields in order to extract and sell resources.

Shares of U.S. oil majors are rising as investors bet that they will cash in after the military action that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The White House official did not say which companies the administration has spoken to or when the conversations took place.

President Trump's call for U.S. oil companies to rebuild Venezuela's energy sector after the overthrow of President Nicolas Maduro is easier said than done.

The three biggest US oil companies have so far not had any meetings with the government, contradicting Trump's comments.

“I don't think any large U.S. major company is going to want to invest without a series of guarantees,” one historian of Venezuela said.

Energy experts say reviving Venezuela’s oil industry could be a decade-long process, and could cost upwards of $100 billion.

The upcoming meetings will be crucial to the administration's hopes to boost crude oil production and exports from Venezuela.

Doubling Venezuela's weakened oil flows could cost $110 billion and take until 2030.

President says a ‘tremendous amount of money’ will need to be spent repairing country’s infrastructure

Trump is open about his ambitions for scaled-up US operations, but analysts say such plans would take time.