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

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.

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

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.

U.S. urges oil companies to invest in Venezuela to recover expropriated assets and revive the struggling oil industry.

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.

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.

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

Industry insiders say US oil companies want to ‘avoid getting screwed’ and will proceed with extreme caution

Trump's announcement came days after U.S. forces attacked Venezuela and captured its leader, Nicolas Maduro, to be prosecuted on drug-trafficking charges.

Separately, the White House is organizing an Oval Office meeting with oil company executives, a person familiar with the matter said.

Trump touts large US oil investments in Venezuela’s industry, but firms remain cautious amid low prices and instability.

The agreement is a strong sign that the Venezuelan government is responding to Trump’s demand that they open up to U.S. oil companies.