US Energy Secretary Chris Wright touched down in Venezuela on Wednesday to hold talks with interim president Delcy Rodriguez on assessing the country's crude reserves.
Mr Wright is the highest-ranking member of the Trump administration to visit Venezuela since the overnight toppling of president Nicolas Maduro in January.
“US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright arrived in Caracas earlier this morning to advance President Trump's mission to restore prosperity, safety and security for Venezuela, the United States, and the entire Western Hemisphere,” Energy Department spokesman Ben Dietderich said in a statement.
The Energy Department said Mr Wright would visit Venezuelan oilfields during his trip “to see first-hand how President Trump’s historic US-Venezuela energy deal is unleashing peace and prosperity".
Venezuela holds the world's largest proven crude oil reserves at an estimated 303 billion barrels, according to Opec. The country produces only about 1 per cent of global output because of years of underinvestment, neglected infrastructure and US sanctions.
As Mr Trump seeks to control Venezuela's oil sales, he will still have to convince US oil companies to operate there. So far, companies have appeared reluctant due to the country's uncertain political environment and dilapidated infrastructure.
The US has relaxed sanctions on the country's energy industry since Mr Maduro's capture, and on Tuesday the Treasury Department issued a general licence to allow the exploration and production of oil and gas in Venezuela. It does not authorise the “the formation of new joint ventures or other entities in Venezuela to explore or produce oil or gas”.
