A former top Chevron executive, Ali Moshiri, is raising $2 billion for Venezuelan oil projects after the U.S. captured its leader Nicolas Maduro and President Donald Trump said Washington would take control of the oil-producing nation, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
Moshiri’s investment fund, Amos Global Energy Management, has identified multiple Venezuelan assets and was talking to institutional investors about a private placement to kick-start investment, he told the newspaper.
“I’ve had a dozen calls over the past 24 hours from potential investors. Interest in Venezuela has gone from zero to 99 percent,” Moshiri told the FT.
Just hours after capturing the Venezuelan leader, Trump said American oil companies were prepared to spend billions to restore Venezuela’s crude production, something that could give global growth a lift as greater supply lowers energy prices.
Amos Global Energy did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for a comment.
(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates)