President Trump Participates in a Meeting with Oil and Gas Executives

[00:00:11] Ladies and gentlemen, the President of [00:00:12] the United States, Donald J. Trump. [00:01:08] by far I would say and [00:01:13] we're doing tremendous things. Our [00:01:15] country is uh doing very well. You saw [00:01:18] the numbers that got released today, [00:01:20] yesterday. [00:01:22] deficits cut way, way, way back at [00:01:24] levels that nobody's ever seen before, [00:01:27] setting records. And the numbers coming [00:01:30] into our country are unprecedented. And [00:01:32] we're doing really well. We had a [00:01:35] situation three days ago with Venezuela, [00:01:39] and we're getting along extremely well [00:01:41] with the people of Venezuela, both the [00:01:44] people and the people that are running [00:01:47] Venezuela. [00:01:49] I just want to thank our military. What [00:01:51] they've done is incredible. That was [00:01:53] considered unprecedented. To go into a [00:01:55] military fort with thousands of soldiers [00:01:58] and others and to come in with uh 152 [00:02:03] planes going every which way and uh very [00:02:07] rapid speeds and helicopters [00:02:10] and to come out with no deaths and the [00:02:14] loss of no equipment. It was pretty [00:02:16] amazing. Nobody's seen anything like it. [00:02:18] I was called by the leaders of numerous [00:02:21] countries. I won't go into which ones, [00:02:23] but the biggest and the strongest. And [00:02:26] they said that was very impressive. [00:02:28] They're all impressed. [00:02:30] But today, I'm delighted to welcome [00:02:32] almost two dozen of the biggest and most [00:02:34] respected oil and gas executives in the [00:02:37] world to the White House. It's an honor [00:02:39] to be with them. We have many others [00:02:42] that were not able to get in. And I [00:02:44] said, "If we had a ballroom, [00:02:46] we'd have over a thousand people." [00:02:49] Everybody wanted I never knew your [00:02:50] industry was that big. I never knew you [00:02:52] had that many people in your industry. [00:02:56] But, uh, here we are. And if you, in [00:02:58] fact, if you look, come to think of it, [00:03:01] well, [00:03:03] I got to look at this myself. [00:03:11] Wow. [00:03:14] What a what a view. This is the door to [00:03:16] the ballroom. [00:03:21] >> What did you have? [00:03:24] Unusual time to look, but I figured we [00:03:27] might as well do. If the fake news would [00:03:29] like to go back and take a look, you [00:03:30] can. But you'll see a very big [00:03:32] foundation that's moving. We're ahead of [00:03:34] schedule in the ballroom and under [00:03:35] budget. It's going to be I don't think [00:03:38] there'll be anything like it in the [00:03:39] world, actually. I think it's be the the [00:03:42] best. We went from this is as you know [00:03:43] our biggest room which would seat a [00:03:45] hundred for dinner maybe if you're lucky [00:03:48] if you're nice and tight and the [00:03:51] ballroom will seat many and it'll also [00:03:53] take care of the inauguration with [00:03:55] bulletproof glass drone proof ceilings [00:03:58] and everything else unfortunately that [00:03:59] today you need. [00:04:02] So, we're going to discuss how these [00:04:04] great American companies can help [00:04:06] rapidly rebuild Venezuela's dilapidated [00:04:09] oil industry and bring millions of [00:04:11] barrels of oil production to benefit the [00:04:14] United States, the people of Venezuela, [00:04:16] and the entire world. And yesterday, the [00:04:20] number is 30 million barrels. [00:04:24] I can't even Is that a correct number? [00:04:26] 30 million barrels. You hear that, [00:04:29] Peter? [00:04:31] uh of oil was given to us by Venezuela. [00:04:34] That's a lot of oil. It's about4 billion [00:04:36] dollars worth and it's on our way to [00:04:39] it's on its way to the United States [00:04:40] right now and we want to thank Venezuela [00:04:44] for that and we're working very well [00:04:46] with them obviously or they wouldn't [00:04:48] have been so generous but they respect [00:04:50] us again. They didn't respect us at all [00:04:52] before. So that's money that goes to the [00:04:55] United States. Some will go to Venezuela [00:04:58] and some will go to the oil companies, [00:05:00] but not that because that's already been [00:05:02] extracted. So when you're not getting [00:05:04] any of that, but when you start [00:05:07] extracting, you'll get but it's a [00:05:10] tremendous reserves among the biggest in [00:05:13] the world. Some people say it is the [00:05:15] biggest in the world. And we're going to [00:05:17] be working with Venezuela. We're going [00:05:19] to be making the decision as to which [00:05:21] oil companies are going to go in that [00:05:23] we're going to allow to go in. gonna cut [00:05:25] a deal with the companies. We'll [00:05:26] probably do that today or very shortly [00:05:30] thereafter with Chris and Doug. [00:05:32] And uh we're dealing with the country. [00:05:35] So we're we're empowered to make that [00:05:37] deal. And you have total safety, total [00:05:40] security. One of the reasons you [00:05:42] couldn't go in is you had no guarantees. [00:05:44] You had no security, but now you have [00:05:45] total security. It's a whole different [00:05:47] Venezuela. And Venezuela is going to be [00:05:50] very successful. and the people of the [00:05:53] United States are going to be big [00:05:54] beneficiaries because we're going to be [00:05:56] extracting, [00:05:58] you know, numbers of in terms of oil [00:06:01] like, you know, few people have ever [00:06:03] seen actually. [00:06:05] So, uh, you're dealing with us directly. [00:06:08] You're not dealing with Venezuela at [00:06:09] all. We don't want you to deal with [00:06:10] Venezuela. [00:06:12] Let me thank Vice President J. D. Vance, [00:06:14] who's doing a fantastic job. [00:06:17] Secretary of State Marco Rubio, [00:06:19] likewise, a fantastic job. I have good [00:06:22] people. [00:06:24] I like them better than my first group. [00:06:27] But we had a great despite that, we had [00:06:29] a great first term. We had some great [00:06:30] people there, too, by the way. But we [00:06:33] had a great a great first year. We had [00:06:35] the greatest economy in the history of [00:06:37] our country in the first term, but this [00:06:38] is blowing it away. And you haven't seen [00:06:41] anything yet. Everyone's been shocked by [00:06:43] the numbers. 5.4% [00:06:45] GDP. And that's despite the fact that we [00:06:48] were badly hurt by the Democrat shutdown [00:06:52] of which they'd like to see if they [00:06:53] could shut it down again. [00:06:56] Secretary of the Interior Doug Bergam [00:06:58] who's fantastic. Secretary of Energy [00:07:01] Chris Wright recommended by Doug as [00:07:04] being the greatest oil man anywhere in [00:07:06] the world because I wanted Doug for that [00:07:08] job energy. And Doug said, "No sir, [00:07:11] there's a man named Chris Wright." I [00:07:13] said, "Who the hell is Chris Wright?" He [00:07:15] said he's the most talented oil man [00:07:17] anywhere in the world. I doubt you can [00:07:20] get him because typically oil men make a [00:07:22] lot of money and women. They make a lot [00:07:25] of money, but Chris came. You took one [00:07:27] of the greatest salary cuts probably in [00:07:29] history. Chris, but he's a fantastic [00:07:32] person. Loves our country and many other [00:07:34] important members of this team. And I [00:07:37] want to thank them for their efforts. As [00:07:38] you know, last week the United States [00:07:40] armed forces performed one of the most [00:07:42] spectacular military operations in [00:07:45] American history, apprehending the [00:07:48] outlaw dictator Nicholas Maduro for his [00:07:51] crimes against the United States, crimes [00:07:53] for which he has now been indicted and [00:07:56] is in federal court awaiting trial. [00:08:01] And he killed many people, millions of [00:08:04] people actually, and allowed jails, [00:08:08] prisons, mental institutions, insane [00:08:10] asylums, [00:08:11] drug dealers, drug addicts to pour into [00:08:14] our country totally unchecked because of [00:08:16] sleepy Joe Biden's policy of open [00:08:18] borders. The stupidest thing I've ever [00:08:20] seen. We're getting them all out. [00:08:23] The departure of Maduro makes it [00:08:25] possible an incredible future for both [00:08:29] nations. Venezuela [00:08:31] and the United States in which we will [00:08:33] more closely integrate the economies of [00:08:37] two major energy powers in the Western [00:08:39] Hemisphere. Energy coming out of [00:08:42] Venezuela was very small. One of the [00:08:43] things the United States gets out of [00:08:45] this will be even lower energy prices. [00:08:47] is we have people now getting uh [00:08:50] gasoline for $1.99, $1.96, $1.95, $1.92 [00:08:56] yesterday, somebody. And it used to be [00:08:58] three and a half, $4, $5 a gallon. Think [00:09:02] of that. A $1.99. [00:09:06] Decades ago, the United States built [00:09:08] Venezuela's oil industry at tremendous [00:09:10] expense with American skill, technology, [00:09:13] knowhow, and dollars. But those assets [00:09:16] were stolen from us and we had [00:09:19] presidents did nothing about it. This [00:09:22] president is much different than your [00:09:23] other presidents. They did nothing about [00:09:25] it. They stole it. Some of the people in [00:09:27] this room were a little bit younger when [00:09:30] that happened, but not that much [00:09:31] younger. Wasn't that long ago. But they [00:09:36] stole our assets like we were babies. [00:09:39] And the United States did absolutely [00:09:40] nothing about it. So now we're doing [00:09:42] everything about it. Now we're doing [00:09:45] 500% about it, but uh it's it's a long [00:09:48] time after the act took place. So they [00:09:51] stole from us and it was taken by [00:09:53] socialists and communists at the time [00:09:55] and Venezuela was going bad, really bad. [00:09:59] And as much oil as they have, they're [00:10:01] producing almost nothing. Almost [00:10:03] nothing, which is just a system. So [00:10:07] we're really, if you look at it, we're [00:10:09] taking back what was taken from us. They [00:10:12] took our oil industry. We built that [00:10:14] entire oil industry. Started long time [00:10:17] ago, but they took it and they uh they [00:10:21] were very ungracious to this country. [00:10:23] But now they're being very nice. [00:10:25] American companies will have the [00:10:27] opportunity to rebuild Venezuela's [00:10:30] rotting energy infrastructure and [00:10:32] eventually increase oil production to [00:10:34] levels never ever seen before. [00:10:38] When you add Venezuela and the United [00:10:40] States together, we have 55% of the oil [00:10:43] in the world. The United States is [00:10:46] number one. We have them drilling. Drill [00:10:48] baby drill was my campaign. And Doug and [00:10:52] Chris, uh, I think we're setting records [00:10:54] on drilling right now and taking oil [00:10:57] without Venezuela. That's how we're [00:10:59] getting the oil prices down. [00:11:01] The plan is for them to spend, meaning [00:11:04] our giant oil companies will be spending [00:11:07] at least $100 billion dollars of their [00:11:10] money. Not the government's money. They [00:11:11] don't need government money, [00:11:14] but they need government protection and [00:11:16] need government security. That when they [00:11:18] spend all this money, it's going to be [00:11:20] there. So, they get their money back and [00:11:22] make a very nice return. The plan is for [00:11:24] them to spend at least $100 billion [00:11:27] dollars to rebuild the capacity and the [00:11:30] infrastructure necessary. [00:11:33] Venezuela has also agreed that the [00:11:35] United States will immediately begin [00:11:37] refining and selling up to 50 million [00:11:41] barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, which [00:11:43] will continue indefinitely. We're all [00:11:46] set to do it. We have the refining [00:11:49] capacity. was actually based very much [00:11:51] on the uh Venezuelan oil which is a [00:11:54] heavy oil, very good oil, great oil. [00:11:56] It's fantastic for certain things like [00:12:00] asphalt roads, best there is in the [00:12:02] world for asphalt roads and other [00:12:04] things. All of the companies here today [00:12:07] are going to be treasured partners in [00:12:09] bringing the nation of Venezuela back to [00:12:12] life, restoring its economy, and [00:12:14] generating great wealth for their [00:12:16] companies and for their people and also [00:12:20] great wealth for the American people and [00:12:24] tremendous wealth for the companies that [00:12:25] are going in, the companies that are [00:12:27] going in. And if you don't want to go [00:12:28] in, just let me know because I got 25 [00:12:32] people that aren't here today that are [00:12:34] willing to take your place. [00:12:37] So, I just want to thank uh these are [00:12:40] people that I either know or I know of [00:12:41] by reading lots of business magazines [00:12:44] and journals and papers. These are the [00:12:47] greatest oil people anywhere in the [00:12:49] world. Harold Ham, I see is here. [00:12:52] Harold, you know, there's a story about [00:12:53] Harold Ham that he can look at a piece [00:12:56] of land, put a straw into the land, and [00:12:58] oil pours out. Is that true about you? [00:13:01] Whereas some of you guys have to invest [00:13:04] hundreds of millions of dollars to find [00:13:06] that oil. So, we can't let that story be [00:13:08] true. But they say Harold puts a straw [00:13:10] into the land and oil comes gushing out. [00:13:13] So, you're not a big R&D person, are [00:13:15] you? Huh? He's he's called he's called [00:13:18] Instinct for Oil. Now, he's got other [00:13:21] problems, but we won't talk about those [00:13:23] problems. But he's been a great [00:13:25] supporter of mine for a long time, [00:13:26] haven't you, Harold? So, [00:13:27] congratulations. But we have, and I [00:13:29] think Harold would agree, we have the [00:13:31] greatest oil men and women anywhere in [00:13:34] the world sitting in this room right [00:13:35] now. And we have a lot of people that [00:13:38] will be back to see us uh sometime next [00:13:40] week. We're going to have another [00:13:41] meeting for another group, but we're [00:13:44] going to do this very quickly. We could [00:13:46] have this done almost immediately. So, [00:13:48] I'd like to thank you all for being [00:13:50] here. I'd like to invite Vice President [00:13:54] Vance to say a few words, followed by [00:13:56] secretaries Rubio, Bergamman, Wright, [00:13:58] and then we'll have a few words from [00:14:00] representatives that are here and to [00:14:02] discuss their ideas, a couple of them. [00:14:06] Uh, we have Chevron, which has been [00:14:08] Where's Chevron? Where are you? [00:14:10] >> Far right. [00:14:12] >> No, I thought you'd have a better [00:14:13] location. You were the only one that was [00:14:15] there for for all that. I used to call [00:14:17] you and say, "Uh, what the hell is going [00:14:20] on with Venezuela?" He stuck it out. I [00:14:22] don't know if you made money or not, but [00:14:24] you stuck it out. They got to give you a [00:14:25] lot of credit for that. Mark Nelson, [00:14:28] thank you very much. Exon CEO Darren [00:14:30] Woods. Darren, thank you very much. [00:14:33] How's Exxon doing? Okay. [00:14:35] >> They'll do a lot better now, won't they? [00:14:36] Huh? Exon's been amazing. It's been an [00:14:39] amazing company. And Kico Phillips CEO [00:14:44] Ryan Lance. Thank you very much. So you [00:14:47] guys could say something and then we'll [00:14:49] take some questions from the press and [00:14:51] uh if anybody else would like to speak, [00:14:53] we'll have you speak. We have all the [00:14:55] time in the world. This is a big [00:14:56] subject. This is massive wealth. And [00:15:00] more importantly than massive wealth, it [00:15:02] leads to lower taxes and a lot of jobs [00:15:04] for Americans and for Venezuelans, but [00:15:08] for Americans in this case. And I just [00:15:11] again appreciate you all being here. And [00:15:13] I'd like to ask JD to say a few words, [00:15:15] please. Thank you. [00:15:17] >> Thank you, Mr. President, and thanks to [00:15:18] everybody for being here. You know, as a [00:15:21] Marine Corps veteran for my entire [00:15:22] lifetime, presidents, and let's be [00:15:24] honest, they were Democrats and [00:15:25] Republicans would send the American [00:15:27] military to faroff places. They would [00:15:30] get us involved in these endless [00:15:31] quagmires. They would lose hundreds or [00:15:33] thousands of American lives. And the [00:15:35] American people would get nothing out of [00:15:36] these misadventures. And now you have an [00:15:39] American president who has empowered the [00:15:40] American military to stop the flow of [00:15:43] drugs into our country and to ensure [00:15:45] that we, as opposed to our adversaries, [00:15:48] control one of the great energy reserves [00:15:50] that exist anywhere in the entire world. [00:15:52] And he did it without losing a single [00:15:54] American life in the process. It was an [00:15:56] amazing operation. It's going to make [00:15:58] our country richer. It's going to make [00:16:00] our country more powerful. It's going to [00:16:02] make our country safer. and it's going [00:16:04] to lead to the decline, the further [00:16:06] decline of drug overdose deaths in the [00:16:08] United States of America. An amazing [00:16:10] thing and I'm happy to be here to talk [00:16:12] about how we can make it an even bigger [00:16:13] and better operation for the American [00:16:15] people. Thank you, sir. [00:16:16] >> Thank you very much, Marco. [00:16:19] >> Thank you, Mr. President. And I think [00:16:20] this is a reminder that everything this [00:16:22] president does, everything President [00:16:23] Trump does is with the American people [00:16:24] in mind. It was not in the national [00:16:26] interest or national security of the [00:16:28] United States and of our people to have [00:16:30] in our own hemisphere a country not just [00:16:33] with vast energy reserves but controlled [00:16:35] by an indicted narot trafficker who [00:16:38] flooded our country with illegal [00:16:40] immigration including drug gang members [00:16:42] flooded our openly cooperated with drug [00:16:44] gangs and by the way opened up the stole [00:16:47] the wealth of that country to fund a [00:16:49] repressive regime and also benefit [00:16:51] adversaries such as Iran. All of that is [00:16:53] now changing. [00:16:55] Part of this process. The first phase of [00:16:57] course is the phase we're in now, which [00:16:59] is the stabilization phase. We did not [00:17:00] want to see destabilization in the [00:17:02] country. We're working very [00:17:03] cooperatively with the interim [00:17:04] authorities there to provide a market [00:17:06] for the sale of the wealth of Venezuela [00:17:09] in such a way that benefits the people [00:17:11] both of the United States, but also the [00:17:12] people of Venezuela. And as a reminder [00:17:14] to everyone, the president announced [00:17:15] this just two days ago. Every penny, [00:17:18] everything they buy with the money that [00:17:19] they're making from the oil now, Mr. [00:17:20] president will be bought from America [00:17:23] and that includes everything from [00:17:24] equipment for the oil industry to food [00:17:26] to medicine to everything in between. [00:17:28] The second it will be a phase of [00:17:29] recovery and then some of these phases [00:17:31] will have a normal economy again where [00:17:34] the money goes to the benefit of people [00:17:36] not the benefit of our adversaries or [00:17:38] the benefit of of of elements in that [00:17:41] country and around the world that are [00:17:42] against our interests. At the same time [00:17:44] as a process of reconciliation has to [00:17:46] happen internally among the different [00:17:48] sectors of society and politics and the [00:17:50] like. And finally the third phase which [00:17:52] is the mo most important of the three is [00:17:53] when the country fully transitions into [00:17:55] a normal country that we have strong [00:17:57] economic and diplomatic and relations [00:17:59] with uh that that is friendly towards [00:18:01] the United States that's not a foothold [00:18:03] for our adversaries that serves our [00:18:05] interests but also the interests of the [00:18:06] people. It'll be a country that is [00:18:07] wealthy, a country that is prosperous [00:18:09] for the people, not for a handful of uh [00:18:12] criminals, but also a country that is [00:18:14] supportive of our interests in the [00:18:15] region and throughout the world. And we [00:18:18] thank you, Mr. President, and the team [00:18:19] you've assembled that have made brought [00:18:20] us to this point. A lot of work remains, [00:18:22] important work, but this is historic. [00:18:25] >> Okay. Thank you very much, Doug. [00:18:29] >> Well, Mr. President, I want to thank you [00:18:31] for your leadership uh not just as [00:18:34] president, but as commander-in-chief. [00:18:35] the uh the boldness, the execution, the [00:18:38] breathtakingly uh precise work that [00:18:40] you've delivered both in Iran back in [00:18:42] June and here has changed the changed [00:18:44] the field for the whole world. Uh and [00:18:47] you always ran about the idea of peace [00:18:48] and prosperity. And in in Venezuela, as [00:18:52] you know, this is a playground for every [00:18:53] bad actor in the world. Uh we had [00:18:56] Russians, Iran, terror groups, uh all of [00:18:59] them profiting from this criminal [00:19:00] organization that was pretending to run [00:19:02] the country. uh that makes America [00:19:05] safer. You've secured the border. We're [00:19:07] stopping the flow of drugs and now with [00:19:08] the normalization of relationships on an [00:19:10] economic basis, it's going to mean [00:19:13] tremendously for the pro prosperity of [00:19:15] the American people. Uh so I just want [00:19:17] to say again uh congratulations to you [00:19:20] and to the entire leadership team. Uh [00:19:22] it's been an amazing historic week uh on [00:19:24] the scale of things that we haven't seen [00:19:26] perhaps for 125 years in terms of the US [00:19:29] uh exerting its influence over Latin [00:19:32] America in a way that's going to make a [00:19:33] change for generations. And on behalf of [00:19:36] all the oil executives that are here [00:19:37] today, uh Chris and I want to say thank [00:19:40] you to all of you. Uh it's your [00:19:41] technology, your innovation that has put [00:19:44] America in the place where today we are [00:19:46] the most energy dominant country in the [00:19:48] world. And that is that position is [00:19:50] what's allowed us to take uh the action [00:19:52] that we're taking uh with state craft [00:19:54] with military action. None of that would [00:19:56] happen if we were dependent on everybody [00:19:58] else for energy. So you're you're a big [00:20:00] part of the reason uh that we're able to [00:20:02] move the way we are today and we're [00:20:03] grateful that you're here to be to be [00:20:05] part of the solution going forward. [00:20:07] >> Thank you Dougen. You are doing a [00:20:09] fantastic job and we appreciate it. [00:20:10] Everybody appreciates it. They know they [00:20:13] know who's doing well. Chris Wright. [00:20:17] >> Thank you Mr. President. Yeah. What [00:20:19] we've seen in the last week is [00:20:21] leadership matters and credibility [00:20:24] matters. Venezuelan oil has been [00:20:26] sanctioned for many years and the oil [00:20:29] just flew. You know, those sanctions [00:20:31] were not enforced. That oil just floated [00:20:34] out to trafficked by bad actors of the [00:20:36] world. The resources weren't gone to a [00:20:39] central place. The corruption and [00:20:41] decline of Venezuela has been a crisis [00:20:44] for the people of Venezuela. And as [00:20:46] Secretary Rubio said, massive spillover [00:20:49] effects in the United States in crime [00:20:51] and drugs and kidnappings and in taking [00:20:55] a huge resource base and making it not [00:20:58] exploited, not developed. The whole [00:21:00] world is a poorer, less opportunity rich [00:21:02] place. Because of that, when you have [00:21:05] materials underground, they've been [00:21:06] underground for a million years. That [00:21:08] does not make them a resource. That does [00:21:11] not make them valuable for your country, [00:21:12] your people, or the world. They only [00:21:15] become a resource with technology, with [00:21:18] capital, with rule of law and a system [00:21:20] of governance that encourages the [00:21:22] harvesting of those resources to make [00:21:24] the better world. And we see here the [00:21:26] dramatic contrast between the United [00:21:28] States, which may have less oil [00:21:30] underground than Venezuela. We have 20 [00:21:33] times the production of Venezuela, 20 [00:21:35] times the impact of human betterment, [00:21:38] massively better quality of living here [00:21:40] in the United States. That was at risk [00:21:42] under the last administration. We've [00:21:43] seen a lot of attacks on the energy that [00:21:46] makes the world go round. President [00:21:47] Trump's election has removed those [00:21:49] risks, has embraced reality about how [00:21:52] the world is energized, and we are [00:21:54] record production of oil in the United [00:21:56] States, record production in natural gas [00:21:58] in the United States. We've seen a [00:21:59] meaningful decline in gasoline prices, [00:22:02] diesel prices, travel prices because of [00:22:04] jet fuel. Um, and now President Trump is [00:22:07] taking the genius of a different way to [00:22:09] try to solve a 25-year festering problem [00:22:12] in Venezuela that all the traditional [00:22:15] things have not worked, but ordering [00:22:18] both a tremendous military operation to [00:22:21] remove the heads of a criminal [00:22:23] organization masquerading as a [00:22:25] government and then to use the power of [00:22:27] our military not to fire bullets, but to [00:22:30] stop the flow of Venezuelan oil to the [00:22:32] world immediately gave us leverage over [00:22:35] the interim authorities in Venezuela and [00:22:38] has allowed us to be in this position [00:22:40] today where the actions of this [00:22:43] government can massively improve [00:22:45] Venezuela for the better. And the bigger [00:22:47] impact is to massively improve the [00:22:50] quality of life, affordability, [00:22:53] safety, and security of the United [00:22:55] States. Very proud to be here. And I did [00:23:00] I in I'll we'll turn it over to Mark [00:23:03] Nelson who's the vice chairman of [00:23:05] Chevron. Chevron has been in Venezuela [00:23:07] for over a hundred years continuously. [00:23:12] Uh Mike Worth the CEO had a knee [00:23:14] replacement recently. He's not here. [00:23:15] Mark is a tremendous leader in our [00:23:17] industry and and I'll turn it over to [00:23:19] him. [00:23:21] >> Thank you, Secretary Wright. Um again, [00:23:23] I'll send Mike Wart's regrets. He really [00:23:26] wanted to be here, Mr. President. Um [00:23:28] on his on his behalf, I have three very [00:23:32] quick thank yous and an assurance I'd [00:23:34] like to provide you all. [00:23:36] >> Uh the first thank you, Mr. President, [00:23:38] is to you. It's thank you for convening [00:23:40] this gathering. It's thank you for your [00:23:42] leadership and and thank you for [00:23:45] continuing to keep American energy [00:23:47] domination in the in the forefront. So, [00:23:50] thank you. Thank you for that. [00:23:51] >> Thank you very much. [00:23:52] >> The the second thank you actually is is [00:23:54] to the cabinet. Uh so Secretary Rubio, [00:23:58] Secretary Berg, and Secretary Wright, [00:24:00] your ability and commitment to continue [00:24:02] to engage with the parties around the [00:24:05] table to keep the world working is [00:24:08] greatly appreciated. So thank you. Thank [00:24:10] you for that. And the and the final [00:24:11] thank you actually would go to our [00:24:13] Venezuelan employees of Chevron. They [00:24:17] have been working tirelessly to operate [00:24:20] safely, protect the environment in [00:24:22] country and their dedication and skill [00:24:25] will help us in this next chapter. And [00:24:29] finally, I'll close with the assurance. [00:24:31] U for more than a century, Chevron has [00:24:34] been a part of Venezuela's past. Uh we [00:24:37] are certainly committed to its uh [00:24:39] present and we very much look forward as [00:24:42] a proud American company to help it [00:24:44] build a better future. And so, Mr. [00:24:46] President, thank you for your [00:24:47] leadership. [00:24:48] >> And you really suffered there. You you [00:24:50] stuck it out. A lot of people left. A [00:24:52] lot of big companies left. Some of the [00:24:54] people, many of the people sitting at [00:24:56] this table left because of the safety [00:24:58] risk and other risks. But you really, [00:25:00] you stuck it out. I give you credit for [00:25:02] that. Sometimes it was hard. I remember [00:25:05] uh six months ago I told you to stay. [00:25:08] Just stay. Things are going to happen. [00:25:10] You'll be very happy. I didn't know they [00:25:12] were going to happen this fast or this [00:25:13] conclusively. [00:25:15] Uh, one thing I think everyone has to [00:25:17] know is that if we didn't do this, China [00:25:19] or Russia would have done it. And if [00:25:22] China or Russia were a next door [00:25:24] neighbor, because essentially this is [00:25:26] not around the other parts of the world, [00:25:28] so far away where you fly an airplane [00:25:31] for 24 hours before you get there. This [00:25:33] is sort of a nextoor neighbor if you [00:25:36] think about it. And uh, I told China and [00:25:40] I told Russia, we get along with you [00:25:43] very well. we like you very much. We [00:25:45] don't want you there. Not going to be [00:25:46] there. And if we didn't do this, China [00:25:48] would have been there and Russia would [00:25:50] have been there. Maybe they both would [00:25:51] have been there together, but they're [00:25:52] not going to be there. Now, one thing I [00:25:54] will tell them and I will tell you that [00:25:57] we are open for business. Uh, China can [00:26:01] buy all the oil they want from us there [00:26:04] or in the United States. Uh, Russia can [00:26:07] get all the oil they need from us and [00:26:10] they do like oil even though they [00:26:11] produce a lot of it. But China, Russia, [00:26:14] and everybody else is able to go and [00:26:16] we'll be open for business almost [00:26:18] immediately. [00:26:19] I have a feeling the hundred million [00:26:21] dollars will be spent very very hundred [00:26:24] billion will be spent very very rapidly [00:26:26] by these very big, powerful, and rich [00:26:28] companies. And I think they're going to [00:26:29] be able to build rebuild the [00:26:31] infrastructure. I I hope it's going to [00:26:33] be brand new as opposed to rehab because [00:26:35] I know the tremendous difference between [00:26:37] the new and the not so new in your [00:26:39] industry. The new is uh much more [00:26:42] beautiful, much better in every way and [00:26:45] actually much smaller. It's like [00:26:47] everything else gets smaller and [00:26:48] stronger. It's a combination of smaller, [00:26:51] better, and stronger. So, I hope you're [00:26:52] going to build all brand new stuff. Rip [00:26:54] out the old crap that's been there for [00:26:55] so many years and do it the right way. [00:26:57] You're going to be there a long time. If [00:26:59] we make a deal, if we make a deal, [00:27:00] you're going to be there a long time. If [00:27:02] we don't make a deal, you won't be there [00:27:03] at all. It's, you know, sort of [00:27:05] interesting. But uh again, China and [00:27:09] Russia would have been there if we [00:27:11] didn't do this. And the other thing [00:27:13] people ask about the second wave, I [00:27:14] don't think it's going to be necessary. [00:27:16] We have an armada, a giant armada like [00:27:18] nobody's ever seen in that part of the [00:27:20] world and it's stationed off the coast. [00:27:24] and we are getting along so well with [00:27:27] the people that are involved and [00:27:29] representing Venezuela that I don't [00:27:31] think we're going to have any uh ne I [00:27:34] don't think it's going to be necessary [00:27:35] to do the second wave. We were planning [00:27:37] on a second wave, but the first wave was [00:27:40] so powerful and so good and so strong. [00:27:43] And frankly, the people in the country, [00:27:46] they really they did the right thing. [00:27:48] They were smart. They did the right [00:27:50] thing. They didn't want to go through a [00:27:51] second wave. But we've got a tremendous [00:27:54] number of the most powerful ships in the [00:27:58] world right there. I don't think we're [00:27:59] going to have to use that. I'm happy to [00:28:01] say that. I don't think we're going to [00:28:03] have to use that at all. If I could ask [00:28:05] uh Chevron, you did a great job. I want [00:28:08] to thank you and Exon Mobile if you [00:28:10] would say a few words and then followed [00:28:11] by Kico. Great companies, massive [00:28:14] companies, great companies. Uh Exxon, [00:28:16] please. [00:28:17] >> Sure. Thank you, Mr. President. I [00:28:18] appreciate the invitation and the [00:28:20] opportunity, frankly, for the entire [00:28:22] industry to uh show up and provide a [00:28:24] perspective. [00:28:26] Frankly, we've been kind of unresponsive [00:28:28] to the press regarding Venezuela, but I [00:28:30] guess today's the opportunity to address [00:28:32] the press directly with respect to a [00:28:34] number of questions that have been asked [00:28:35] of Exxon Mobile. First and foremost, [00:28:37] obviously, is the interest that we have [00:28:38] in Venezuela. And I think, you know, the [00:28:40] way I would position that, I think one [00:28:42] of the reasons why we see many of the [00:28:43] industry players here is we're in a [00:28:45] depletion business for a product that is [00:28:47] in great demand. and will be in demand [00:28:49] for many many many decades to come. And [00:28:51] as a depletion business, the biggest [00:28:53] challenge we have is finding resources. [00:28:56] There's an opportunity in Venezuela with [00:28:57] all the resources there is we don't have [00:28:59] that challenge of finding, we have the [00:29:01] challenge of developing those resources. [00:29:03] So I think it's on uh it's in the best [00:29:05] interest of uh these companies and [00:29:08] frankly society as a whole for the [00:29:11] industry to be interested in [00:29:13] understanding what the opportunity here [00:29:14] represents. I'll just share a philosophy [00:29:17] that Exon Mobile has when we enter [00:29:19] countries because we do business all [00:29:20] around the world in a number of [00:29:21] different regimes. We take a very [00:29:23] long-term perspective. The investments [00:29:26] that we make span decades and decades so [00:29:29] we do not go into any opportunity with a [00:29:32] short uh uh mindset short-term mindset [00:29:36] and there's a value proposition that we [00:29:37] have to meet. It has to be a winwinwin [00:29:40] proposition. Obviously, it has to be a [00:29:42] win for the company and our shareholders [00:29:44] and to generate a return for the [00:29:45] investments that we make. Has to be a [00:29:48] win for the government. The the [00:29:50] resources are an important source of [00:29:51] revenue that help support the people of [00:29:53] the places that we do business. And uh [00:29:56] has to be a win for the people. We have [00:29:58] to be wanted there and to be a good [00:29:59] neighbor. And those three things ensure [00:30:02] a stable long-term platform for the [00:30:04] large investments that we make for the [00:30:07] long term. [00:30:08] With respect to Venezuela in particular, [00:30:11] we have a very long history in [00:30:12] Venezuela. In fact, we first got into [00:30:15] Venezuela back in 19 1940s. Uh we've had [00:30:19] our assets seized there twice. And so [00:30:22] you can imagine to reenter a third time [00:30:25] uh would require some pretty significant [00:30:27] changes from what we've historically [00:30:28] seen here in what is currently the [00:30:30] state. If we look at the legal and [00:30:32] commercial constructs and frameworks in [00:30:34] place today in Venezuela, uh today it's [00:30:37] uninvestable and so significant changes [00:30:40] have to be made to those commercial uh [00:30:42] frameworks, the legal system. There has [00:30:44] to be durable investment protections and [00:30:47] there has to be a change to the [00:30:48] hydrocarbon uh laws in the country. [00:30:51] We're confident that uh with this [00:30:53] administration and President Trump [00:30:54] working uh handinhand with the [00:30:56] Venezuelan government that those changes [00:30:59] can be put in place. [00:31:01] Uh and with respect to the Venezuelan [00:31:04] government that that perspective we [00:31:07] don't have a view on. We haven't talked [00:31:08] to the Venezuelan government and [00:31:10] obviously we it's we have yet to assess [00:31:12] the people's uh perspective with respect [00:31:15] to Exom Mobile entering the company [00:31:17] country. In the short term, um there are [00:31:20] things that can be done while these [00:31:22] longer term issues are being worked. Uh [00:31:25] for us, we haven't been in the country [00:31:26] for almost 20 years. Uh we think it's uh [00:31:29] absolutely critical in the short term [00:31:31] that we get a technical team in place uh [00:31:34] to assess the current state of the [00:31:35] industry and the assets to understand [00:31:37] what would be involved to help the [00:31:39] people of Venezuela get production back [00:31:40] on the market. um with the invitation of [00:31:43] the Venezuelan government and with [00:31:45] appropriate security guarantees we are [00:31:47] ready to put a team on the ground there. [00:31:50] We also have a uh integrated set of [00:31:52] capabilities from production to refining [00:31:55] to trading and I think we can be of [00:31:57] assistance to getting the Venezuelan [00:31:59] crude to market and realizing a market [00:32:01] price to help again uh with the [00:32:03] financial situation in Venezuela. So [00:32:06] those are my short-term perspective that [00:32:08] I have. I'd say maybe close with a thank [00:32:10] you uh Mr. president for the work that [00:32:12] you've done to secure not only the [00:32:14] national security but the energy [00:32:15] security of the region and then thank [00:32:17] you Secretary Rubio, Secretary Wright, [00:32:19] Secretary Bergam for your leadership in [00:32:21] this matter. Thank you. [00:32:23] >> How long would it take you Darren as [00:32:25] Exxon to if we make a deal and if we [00:32:29] make a deal how long would it take you [00:32:31] to get in there and get started? Well, [00:32:34] we the first step this technical team we [00:32:36] as I talked with Secretary Wright [00:32:38] earlier this week, we started from the [00:32:40] beginning to put the team together so [00:32:42] that if and when it was needed, we could [00:32:44] hit the ground almost immediately so we [00:32:46] can we can hit the ground in within the [00:32:48] next couple of weeks [00:32:49] >> start the assessment and then from there [00:32:51] we need to understand [00:32:52] >> that's what we want. We want speed and [00:32:54] quality. That's what we want. Thank you [00:32:56] Darren and Kico Ryan. [00:32:58] >> Thank you Mr. President. appreciate the [00:33:00] opportunity to be here too and you've [00:33:02] assembled a great team and our [00:33:04] congratulations as well for removing one [00:33:06] of the uh terrible people in the world [00:33:09] and bringing bringing them to justice. [00:33:10] It was quite amazing. I think you've [00:33:12] given hope to the people of Venezuela [00:33:15] again which I think is quite remarkable [00:33:17] and we've been on the other end of that [00:33:19] uh despot regime a long time. Uh our [00:33:22] assets were appropriated. I had a little [00:33:24] bit more hair when that happened. Um, [00:33:26] and you know, I think we're the non [00:33:30] largest non-s sovereign credit holder in [00:33:33] Venezuela today. So, we're in a bit of [00:33:36] different situation, but I think your [00:33:38] big and bold idea to use energy commerce [00:33:42] instead of conflict is something that [00:33:45] could make a real big difference in [00:33:47] Venezuela. And we stand, our company [00:33:49] certainly stands ready to help in in [00:33:52] that endeavor. [00:33:53] um encourage you to continue to think [00:33:55] bigger and even bolder and we've had [00:33:57] some discussions with your energy team [00:34:00] about that as well as we think about the [00:34:02] other people that need to be in this [00:34:03] room and then this discussion are the [00:34:05] banks and including probably the XM bank [00:34:08] as we think about how the debt needs to [00:34:09] be restructured in the financing to uh [00:34:12] deliver the billions of dollars that are [00:34:15] required to restore their energy [00:34:16] infrastructure [00:34:18] and uh and I think as we think that big [00:34:20] and bold we need to be also thinking [00:34:22] about even restructuring the entire [00:34:25] Venezuelan energy system, including [00:34:27] Pedvesa. And I think if we can do that [00:34:30] and think uh think bold, uh there's an [00:34:32] opportunity to be quick, fast, and uh [00:34:35] restore the quality of what's happened [00:34:37] in Venezuela or what's been lost in [00:34:38] Venezuela over the course of the last 25 [00:34:41] years. So, thank you for this [00:34:42] opportunity. [00:34:43] >> Well, thank you very much. And you'll [00:34:44] get a lot of your money back. We're [00:34:45] going to start with an even plate, [00:34:47] though. We're not going to look at what [00:34:49] people lost in the past because that was [00:34:51] their fault. That was a different [00:34:52] president. We're gonna We're gonna [00:34:54] You're gonna make a lot of money, but [00:34:55] we're not going to go back. You left a [00:34:57] lot of money behind, I guess. Huh? [00:35:00] What number? [00:35:01] >> 12 billion. [00:35:02] >> How much? [00:35:02] >> 12 billion. [00:35:04] >> Well, [00:35:06] good write off. [00:35:08] >> It's already been written off. [00:35:09] >> It's been written. [00:35:11] All right. Thank you, You'll make it [00:35:13] back one way or the other. You're all [00:35:15] going to do very well. I think really [00:35:17] very well. Marco just gave me a note. [00:35:19] Go back to Chevron. [00:35:22] They want to discuss something. Go [00:35:23] ahead. I'm going back to Chevron. Mark, [00:35:26] thank you. Marco, go. [00:35:28] >> Is there was there a question, Mr. [00:35:29] President? [00:35:29] >> Yes. Go ahead, Marco. What was What are [00:35:31] you saying here? [00:35:33] >> Mark, if you can update us on operations [00:35:36] in the ground and with the appropriate [00:35:38] approvals, what you might be able to [00:35:40] achieve in the next 12 to 18 months. G [00:35:42] give us a little view from the ground. [00:35:44] >> You bet. You bet. So today, Chevron has [00:35:47] 3,000 employees in four different joint [00:35:50] ventures in Venezuela today. And over [00:35:52] the past 5 to seven years, they've taken [00:35:54] production from about 40,000 barrels a [00:35:57] day to 240,000 barrels a day. [00:35:59] Essentially getting those facilities and [00:36:01] that equipment up to standards that [00:36:02] would be something that people in the [00:36:04] room would be more uh accustomed to. [00:36:06] Given the work we've done um with [00:36:08] Secretary Wright and Secretary [00:36:11] um Bergam and even Secretary Bessant, I [00:36:14] think we have a path forward here very [00:36:16] shortly to be able to increase our [00:36:17] liftings from those joint ventures 100% [00:36:20] essentially effective immediately. Uh we [00:36:23] are also able to increase our production [00:36:26] within our own disciplined investment [00:36:27] schemes um by about 50% just in the next [00:36:31] 18 to to 24 months and that's just [00:36:33] leveraging what's on the ground. So to [00:36:36] to Secretary Rubio's comments about [00:36:38] phase one, this is taking the momentum [00:36:40] of improvements we've already made there [00:36:43] locally and building on those and [00:36:44] creating more momentum for the people of [00:36:46] Venezuela. [00:36:48] >> Do you think you have an advantage being [00:36:50] there? It's, you know, you've been there [00:36:51] by the skin of your teeth. It's been [00:36:53] tough for you to be there, but do you [00:36:55] think you have an advantage over the [00:36:56] other people in this room by the fact [00:36:57] that you are there? [00:36:59] >> Yeah, I think there are, Mr. President, [00:37:00] I think there would be days where it [00:37:01] didn't feel like an advantage and there [00:37:02] are days where it does feel like an [00:37:04] advantage. But having people on the [00:37:06] ground today that care desperately about [00:37:07] the people of Venezuela and know how to [00:37:09] operate the assets that are there is a [00:37:11] definite advantage today. [00:37:12] >> Would you say the best locations are [00:37:15] available or would you say the best [00:37:17] locations are already sort of worked [00:37:20] even though they're in very bad shape? [00:37:23] >> The best locations for finding oil, the [00:37:25] best locations for oil. There there are [00:37:28] more more opportunities than not Mr. [00:37:30] President with 300 billion barrels of of [00:37:33] reserves in resources in country. Uh [00:37:35] there are lots of opportunities for many [00:37:37] companies. [00:37:37] >> Will you be building new or we you'll be [00:37:39] using the old infrastructure that you [00:37:41] have? [00:37:42] >> Yeah, today it's a it's a little bit of [00:37:43] a mix but today it's mostly us taking [00:37:46] the uh the equipment of today getting it [00:37:48] to the standards that we are accustomed [00:37:49] to. To your comments about making it how [00:37:51] it should be today, most of the [00:37:53] investments that we've been making are [00:37:54] about getting it up to our standards. [00:37:56] Well, I think you're going to make an [00:37:57] investment, but you're going to get your [00:37:59] money back very quickly, and that's part [00:38:00] of our thing. We're going to have you [00:38:01] get your money back fast, and then [00:38:03] you'll uh give a lot to Venezuela and to [00:38:06] the United States after that. Okay? So, [00:38:08] you'll be you'll be in good shape. Uh [00:38:09] could I ask Carol Tam to say a few [00:38:11] words? He's been a friend of mine for a [00:38:14] long time. Very amazing man, actually, [00:38:16] amazing energy person. [00:38:18] >> Well, thank you, Mr. President. And it's [00:38:20] good to be here with so many dignified [00:38:22] people uh in this effort particularly [00:38:25] and thank you for your effort for what [00:38:28] you've done here taking this desperate [00:38:30] out of that area and the world uh dealt [00:38:34] with them way too long. Certainly our [00:38:37] industry knows that this is a real jewel [00:38:41] uh that can be uh developed for the for [00:38:44] the people for the people uh of [00:38:48] Venezuela and also benefit the world and [00:38:51] like Secretary Wright said it has not [00:38:55] been done that's not been done in the [00:38:57] past and and they had a good chance at [00:39:00] it. um brought uh someone in that [00:39:05] totally took it down as everybody knows [00:39:07] here and that was Chavez and we know [00:39:10] what happened to him finally but you [00:39:12] know that ruined the industry ruin in in [00:39:16] Venezuela and all of us know how that [00:39:19] happened ended very well very very [00:39:22] wrongly uh so anyway we're we're glad to [00:39:26] see u uh what's happened here and and uh [00:39:30] look forward forward uh for the [00:39:32] opportunity for a lot of people in this [00:39:34] room, but also for America and the [00:39:37] country itself. [00:39:38] >> Are you going to be involved in going in [00:39:41] because you know he's in North Dakota [00:39:44] and he's in Oklahoma and some incredible [00:39:47] places is a little bit different, but [00:39:49] there's no doubt about you won't have to [00:39:51] worry about the straw too much here. You [00:39:53] can just just go at it. Uh are you going [00:39:55] to be one of the participants? [00:39:57] >> Well, certainly uh you know I'm an oil [00:39:59] finder. uh like you said uh you know [00:40:03] Barry Butcher uh you know told that [00:40:05] story [00:40:06] >> the coach [00:40:06] >> and he's kind of exaggerated a little [00:40:08] bit. It doesn't come out that quite that [00:40:10] easily usually but anyway great story. I [00:40:13] love it. Uh but I love Barry. [00:40:15] >> Barry Barry's the one that told me that. [00:40:17] >> Yeah, he's he's a champion, you know, [00:40:19] and in a lot of ways. So love that [00:40:22] story. Uh certainly I I it excites me as [00:40:26] an expirationist. uh you know everybody [00:40:30] has that in their blood and and uh you [00:40:33] know it is a very exciting uh uh country [00:40:37] and and a lot of reserves and so it's [00:40:41] got its challenges and the industry [00:40:44] knows how to how to handle that and like [00:40:47] Darren said you know you go in your eyes [00:40:50] open and and do the best you can with [00:40:53] the team you got so [00:40:54] >> well you're going to have something that [00:40:56] they never had really here There's [00:40:57] tremendous security. You're going to be [00:40:59] very secure, very safe, physically safe, [00:41:01] in addition to financially safe. So, [00:41:04] it's good to see you, Harold. Thank you [00:41:06] very much. Uh, does anybody have [00:41:08] anything to say before we get to the [00:41:10] press? [00:41:10] >> Cuba have to do to avoid the same fate. [00:41:14] What does Cuba have? [00:41:15] >> Well, Cuba's in bad shape. Cuba relied [00:41:18] on Venezuela for oil and for money, and [00:41:22] nobody really knows what's going to [00:41:23] happen with Cuba. They're doing very [00:41:24] poorly. really third world all the way [00:41:28] and we have a lot of great Cuban [00:41:29] Americans and I would say Marco fits [00:41:32] very solidly into that category and I [00:41:35] might ask you to say a few words about [00:41:37] we were discussing it before Cuba is a [00:41:39] very different they don't have energy [00:41:40] they don't have oil but they would live [00:41:43] off of the oil from Venezuela and they [00:41:46] what they do have is very strong people [00:41:49] and very powerful people militarily and [00:41:52] they would protect the people running [00:41:55] Venezuela and they would take in a lot [00:41:57] of money from Venezuela. Now they don't [00:41:59] have that. They won't be taking in any [00:42:01] money. So Marco, what do you think? [00:42:03] >> Well, I mean the fundamental problem in [00:42:04] Cuba is that it's run by incompetent [00:42:06] people that don't know what an economy [00:42:07] looks like, much less a functioning one. [00:42:09] They've made a choice and that is they [00:42:11] would rather have political control over [00:42:12] their people than they would to have an [00:42:13] economy that functions. And they've [00:42:15] gotten away with it for 60some years [00:42:17] because they've had donors, the Soviet [00:42:18] Union and now most recently Venezuela. [00:42:20] But that's now gone. So the people in [00:42:23] control in Cuba have a choice to make. [00:42:25] They can either have a real country with [00:42:26] a real economy where their people can [00:42:28] prosper or they can continue with their [00:42:29] failing dictatorship that's going to [00:42:31] lead to systemic and societal collapse. [00:42:33] So it's a very stark and dramatic choice [00:42:35] and it's one we hope they make the right [00:42:36] one. We don't have an interest in a [00:42:38] destabilized Cuba, but that would be [00:42:39] their fault because they refuse to allow [00:42:41] the people of Cuba to have either [00:42:43] economic or political freedom for that [00:42:45] matter. And you have a you have you have [00:42:48] a lot of people in this country that [00:42:50] want to go back to Cuba and help Cuba. A [00:42:52] lot of people have left you know they [00:42:54] came in penalists they didn't have [00:42:56] anything and they become very rich [00:42:57] people in our country and they want to [00:42:59] very much go back and help Cuba. So [00:43:01] that's something that Cuba has that a [00:43:03] lot of other places don't have. Peter [00:43:04] >> President Trump I do want to ask you [00:43:06] about Minnesota but first just more on [00:43:08] topic. Uh, President Silinsky said that [00:43:11] he was watching with the rest of the [00:43:12] world as you made this order to go and [00:43:15] capture Nicholas Maduro. And he said, [00:43:17] "If that's how it works with dictators, [00:43:19] then the United States knows what to do [00:43:21] next." Sounds like he wants you to go [00:43:24] and capture Vladimir Putin. Would you [00:43:25] ever order a mission to go and capture [00:43:27] Vladimir Putin? [00:43:28] >> Well, I don't think it's going to be [00:43:29] necessary. I think we're going to have a [00:43:31] uh we've always I've always had a great [00:43:33] relationship with him. I'm very [00:43:34] disappointed. I settled eight wars. I [00:43:36] thought this would be in the middle of [00:43:38] the pack or maybe one of the easier [00:43:39] ones. And I don't know if you know, [00:43:41] Peter, the last month they lost 31,000 [00:43:45] people, many of them Russian soldiers [00:43:46] and the Russian economy is doing poorly. [00:43:49] I think we're going to end up getting it [00:43:51] settled. Uh I wish we could have done it [00:43:54] quicker because a lot of people are [00:43:55] dying and mostly soldiers. you know, [00:43:58] they get hit in Kiev and they get hit a [00:44:00] little bit here and there and people are [00:44:01] dying there too, but largely it's the [00:44:04] soldier population. When you have 30,000 [00:44:07] 31,000 soldiers dying in a period of a [00:44:10] month, uh 27,000 the month before, [00:44:13] 26,000 the month before that, that's bad [00:44:16] stuff. So, uh, as you know, President [00:44:19] Biden gave $350 billion dollar to [00:44:24] Ukraine to fight and, uh, we would never [00:44:28] get that back. Although I did make a [00:44:30] rare earth deal to get it back, so we [00:44:32] will be getting it back, but shouldn't [00:44:34] have done that. It was a, it was a bad [00:44:36] thing to do. Uh, I will say that right [00:44:39] now because I was able to get NATO to up [00:44:42] GDP from 2% to 5%. Uh, NATO's got a lot [00:44:46] of money and they're paying for [00:44:47] everything. We're not losing any money. [00:44:49] We're making a lot of money, I guess, if [00:44:51] you think of it because we're selling [00:44:52] them military equipment. They're [00:44:54] probably giving it to Ukraine, but we're [00:44:56] selling them to NATO military equipment. [00:44:59] We're getting full price and all of [00:45:00] that. But that's not a big deal to me. [00:45:02] What is a big deal is stopping a war [00:45:04] where 30,000 people are being killed [00:45:06] every single month. [00:45:08] >> On Minnesota, the vice president [00:45:10] yesterday suggested that Renee Good, who [00:45:13] was killed by this ICE officer, was part [00:45:15] of a broadle left-wing network. What has [00:45:18] your team told you about this broadle [00:45:21] left-wing network? Who is in charge of [00:45:23] it? Who's part of it? What what's it [00:45:25] called? [00:45:26] >> Well, I haven't seen the vice [00:45:27] president's statement, but he's [00:45:29] generally very accurate. I hate to say [00:45:31] it. Uh look uh I watched that yesterday [00:45:34] and there were a lot of lot of different [00:45:35] forms to it but there was a woman [00:45:38] screaming shame shame shame shame. She [00:45:40] was a agitator probably a paid agitator [00:45:44] but in my opinion she was an agitator a [00:45:46] very high level agitator so professional [00:45:50] she wouldn't stop screaming I said this [00:45:52] isn't a normal situation this is a [00:45:55] professional troublemaker because you [00:45:58] heard it and I had it. Now, I I will say [00:46:00] this. The news sort of turned her down, [00:46:02] turned her off because you're trying to [00:46:05] watch. She was so loud and so crazy and [00:46:10] just not normal. When somebody sees [00:46:12] something like that, they don't go [00:46:13] screaming and screaming and the same [00:46:16] words. So, I guess you could say [00:46:19] professional, but I didn't think she did [00:46:21] a very good job. You have agitators and [00:46:24] we will always be protecting ICE and [00:46:26] we're always going to be protecting our [00:46:27] border patrol and our law enforcement. [00:46:29] >> Yeah, [00:46:33] Mr. President, in your conversations [00:46:35] with these oil executives today, did you [00:46:38] provide any security guarantees so that [00:46:41] they can do their work safely in [00:46:43] Venezuela? And separately, Mr. [00:46:45] President, I'm [00:46:46] >> They will have those guarantees. Yes. [00:46:48] >> And separately, Mr. President, I'm [00:46:50] curious in terms of the future of [00:46:51] Venezuela. Do you see Venezuela now led [00:46:54] by Deli Rodriguez as an ally of the US? [00:46:58] Uh, is that the way that you view that [00:46:59] country? [00:47:00] >> Well, right now they seem to be an ally [00:47:01] and I think it'll continue to be an ally [00:47:03] and we don't have want to have have [00:47:05] Russia there. We don't want to have [00:47:06] China there. And by the way, we don't [00:47:08] want Russia or China going to Greenland, [00:47:10] which if we don't take Greenland, you're [00:47:12] going to have Russia or China as your [00:47:15] next door neighbor. That's not going to [00:47:16] happen. [00:47:23] Dwight, [00:47:24] >> Mr. President, thank you. You just said [00:47:25] that these companies would have security [00:47:27] guarantees if they go in on the ground [00:47:29] in Venezuela. [00:47:30] >> They will have. [00:47:31] >> And what is your plan there actually for [00:47:33] these companies and those Americans who [00:47:34] are going to be on the ground working [00:47:36] for these companies? [00:47:37] >> Well, there are going to be Americans. I [00:47:39] assume they're going to be using a lot [00:47:40] of Americans, but they're going to be [00:47:41] using a lot of people from Venezuela and [00:47:44] other places, I would imagine. But I [00:47:46] would think that mostly they'll be using [00:47:47] Venezuelan workers. They have a lot of [00:47:49] great workers. They have a very high [00:47:51] unemployment rate and they have workers [00:47:53] that are very familiar with taking oil [00:47:55] out of the ground. Yeah. [00:47:57] >> How long do you think the Ayatollah will [00:47:59] be in power after what we've seen play [00:48:01] out on the ground there? When is the US [00:48:03] going to get involved now that reports [00:48:04] of protesters being killed on the [00:48:06] ground? [00:48:06] >> So Iran's in big trouble. It looks to me [00:48:09] that the people are taking over certain [00:48:12] cities that nobody thought were really [00:48:14] possible just a few weeks ago. Uh we're [00:48:17] watching the situation very carefully. [00:48:19] I've made the statement very strongly [00:48:20] that if they start killing people like [00:48:22] they have in the past, we will get [00:48:24] involved. We'll be hitting them very [00:48:26] hard where it hurts. And that doesn't [00:48:28] mean boots on the ground, but it means [00:48:30] hitting them very, very hard where it [00:48:32] hurts. So, uh we don't want that to [00:48:34] happen. Uh there have been cases like [00:48:36] this where President Obama totally [00:48:38] backed down. But this is something uh [00:48:42] pretty incredible that's happening in [00:48:44] Iran. It's an amazing thing to watch. [00:48:46] They've done a bad job. They've treated [00:48:48] their people very badly and now they're [00:48:49] being paid back. So let's see what [00:48:52] happens. We're watching it. We're [00:48:53] watching it very closely. [00:48:57] >> Go ahead, please. [00:48:58] >> Thank you so much, Mr. President. [00:48:59] >> Yes. Go ahead. [00:49:00] >> Mr. President. [00:49:00] >> Thank you so much, Mr. President. Uh, do [00:49:03] you have any comments on reaction to the [00:49:05] recent attacks by the Syrian government [00:49:07] alignment groups against US backed [00:49:09] Kurdish forces in Alipos, Syria, which [00:49:11] killed dozens of civilians and [00:49:12] displacing many families. Does your [00:49:15] administration bring peace between the [00:49:16] Kurds and the Syrian government? [00:49:18] >> I want to see peace. Yes, I do. The [00:49:19] Kurds and the Syrian government. We get [00:49:21] along with both, as you know very well. [00:49:23] Uh, they have been natural enemies over [00:49:26] the years, but we get along both and uh [00:49:29] we want to see Syria succeed. And so far [00:49:32] I think they are succeeding but this is [00:49:34] just breaking out and we want to see [00:49:35] that stopped. [00:49:40] >> Go ahead please. [00:49:42] >> You're meeting with the president of [00:49:43] Colombia Gustavo Pedro in a few weeks. [00:49:44] Do you hope this this meeting with [00:49:46] Gustavo Petro marks a new chapter a new [00:49:48] beginning in the benefit of the US [00:49:51] country? What country? [00:49:52] >> Colombia with the president of Colombia. [00:49:55] had a very good talk with him yesterday [00:49:57] and uh you know he's been very hostile [00:50:00] to us and to the nation and to me called [00:50:02] me a dictator and lots of other things. [00:50:05] Uh called Biden uh some terrible names [00:50:08] far worse than he called me but uh he [00:50:11] called yesterday through people and he [00:50:14] wants to meet and that's fine with me. [00:50:16] I've uh I've made up with people also, [00:50:19] you know. So we're gonna have a meeting [00:50:20] with him. We had a very good [00:50:21] conversation. Uh, the people of Colombia [00:50:24] are incredible people. Uh, Marco would [00:50:27] know that better than anybody because [00:50:28] he's married to a woman from Colombia. [00:50:31] And I don't mean Colombia University. [00:50:33] That would be I'm not sure. I think I [00:50:35] like Colombia the country better. If you [00:50:37] want to know the truth, the people the [00:50:39] people are [00:50:41] the people. Hold it, hold it, hold it. [00:50:42] The people are the people are great [00:50:44] people. I look forward to meeting with [00:50:46] going to meet in the very near future. [00:50:47] Would [00:50:49] you meet the president of Venezuela here [00:50:52] in the White House? Would you greet her [00:50:54] to discuss the fate of the oil? [00:50:55] >> Yeah. Well, I'm going to meet a lot of [00:50:57] people and we're going to meet, you [00:50:58] know, we meet a lot of people. We've [00:51:01] when you end eight wars, you get to know [00:51:02] a lot of people and uh I think it's very [00:51:06] important. As an example, we have over [00:51:08] 18 trillion dollars, think of it, $18 [00:51:11] trillion coming into our country. A lot [00:51:13] of that's coming in from foreign [00:51:14] countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar [00:51:17] and UAE and others. And I get to meet a [00:51:20] lot of people, but I will be meeting [00:51:22] with uh rep various representatives of [00:51:25] Venezuela, probably pretty soon. We [00:51:27] haven't set that up. Uh but the [00:51:29] relationship that we have with the [00:51:31] people that are currently running [00:51:32] Venezuela is very good. Uh we also have [00:51:35] uh a young lady that received the Nobel [00:51:38] Peace Prize. She's going to come in and [00:51:41] pay her regards to our country really to [00:51:43] me, but you know, I'm a representative [00:51:45] of the country, nothing else. And uh [00:51:48] she's coming in sometime next week, I [00:51:50] think Wednesday, Tuesday or Wednesday. [00:51:52] And we'll see how that is. But no, no, [00:51:55] we're going to be we're dealing with the [00:51:56] people from Venezuela. We're dealing [00:51:58] with them very well. I think they've [00:52:00] been very smart in the way they've dealt [00:52:01] with us, frankly, because that whole [00:52:03] place could have been obliterated with [00:52:04] one more strike, and we didn't want to [00:52:06] do that. [00:52:10] My question, but on Venezuela and your [00:52:13] meeting with Machado next week, if she [00:52:15] gives you her Nobel Peace Prize, will [00:52:17] that change your view about her running [00:52:18] that country? [00:52:20] >> Will I have to speak to her? I mean, I'm [00:52:21] going to have to speak to her. She might [00:52:23] be involved in some aspect of it. I will [00:52:25] have to speak to her. I think it's very [00:52:26] nice that she wants to come in and [00:52:29] that's what I understand the reason is [00:52:31] because Norway [00:52:33] uh is very embarrassed by what took [00:52:35] place. I mean, they're getting [00:52:36] decimated. Look, whether people like [00:52:39] Trump or don't like Trump, I settled [00:52:41] eight wars, big ones. Some going on for [00:52:45] 36 years, 32 years, 31 years, 28 years, [00:52:49] 25 years. Some just getting ready to [00:52:52] start like India and Pakistan where [00:52:55] already eight jets were shot out of the [00:52:57] air and I got it done in rapid order [00:53:00] without nuclear weapons. Uh, I can't [00:53:04] think of anybody in history that should [00:53:06] get the Nobel Prize more than me. And I [00:53:08] don't want to be bragging, but nobody [00:53:09] else settled wars. Obama got the Nobel [00:53:11] Prize. He had no idea why. He still has [00:53:14] no idea. He walks around, he says, "I [00:53:16] got the Nobel Prize." Why did he get a [00:53:18] Nobel Prize? He got it almost [00:53:19] immediately upon attaining office and he [00:53:22] didn't do anything. And he was a bad [00:53:23] president. So, uh, I mean, you you [00:53:27] should get the Nobel Prize for every war [00:53:28] you stopped. These were major wars. [00:53:30] These were wars that nobody thought [00:53:33] could be stopped. President Putin called [00:53:35] me and he said about two of the wars [00:53:36] that he's been trying to stop them for [00:53:38] 10 years. He wasn't able to do it. He [00:53:40] couldn't believe it. So in theory, you [00:53:41] should get the Nobel Prize for every war [00:53:43] you stopped. Every one of them was [00:53:44] major. But uh I don't care about that. [00:53:48] What I care about is saving lives. I've [00:53:50] saved tens of millions of lives. You [00:53:52] know, the prime minister of Pakistan [00:53:55] came here and he made a very public [00:53:57] statement. He said that President Trump [00:53:59] saved minimum 10 million lives [00:54:03] having to do with Pakistan and India and [00:54:06] that was going to be raging. So, you [00:54:07] know, but I'm honored that she's coming [00:54:09] here. I look forward to meeting her. [00:54:10] Yes. [00:54:14] >> Go ahead. [00:54:17] >> Um the state officials there have said [00:54:19] that the FBI is not sharing evidence [00:54:20] with them. Typically, they would conduct [00:54:22] a joint investigation as you know. Do [00:54:24] you believe that the FBI should be [00:54:25] sharing evidence with state officials in [00:54:27] Minnesota? [00:54:28] >> Well, normally I would, but they're [00:54:29] crooked officials. I mean, Minneapolis [00:54:31] and Minnesota, what a beautiful place, [00:54:34] but it's being destroyed. It's got an [00:54:36] incompetent governor, fool. I mean, he's [00:54:38] a stupid person. And uh it looks like [00:54:42] the number could be 19 billion dollars [00:54:45] stolen from a lot of people, but largely [00:54:48] people from Somalia. They buy their [00:54:50] vote. They vote in a group. They buy [00:54:52] their vote. Uh they sell more [00:54:54] Mercedes-Benzes in that area than almost [00:54:56] Can you imagine you come over with no [00:54:58] money and then shortly thereafter you're [00:54:59] driving a Mercedes-Benz? The whole thing [00:55:02] is ridiculous. So they're very corrupt [00:55:03] people. It's a very corrupt state. I [00:55:06] feel that I won Minnesota. I think I won [00:55:08] it all three times. It Nobody's won it [00:55:12] for since Richard Nixon won it many, [00:55:15] many years ago. I won it all three times [00:55:18] in my opinion. And it's a corrupt state, [00:55:20] a corrupt voting state. And the [00:55:22] Republicans ought to get smart and [00:55:25] demand on voter ID. They ought to demand [00:55:28] maybe same day voting and all of the [00:55:30] other things that you have to have to [00:55:32] safe election. But I won Minnesota three [00:55:35] times and I didn't get credit for it. I [00:55:37] did so well in that state every time. [00:55:39] The people were they were crying every [00:55:41] time after. That's a crooked state. [00:55:44] California is a crooked state. Many [00:55:46] crooked states. We have a very very [00:55:48] dishonest voting system. The last time I [00:55:50] won uh 24, the one that just took place, [00:55:54] I won because it was too big to rig. You [00:55:56] couldn't rig it. It was too big. But I [00:55:58] won the state of Minnesota. It's a [00:56:00] corrupt voting system with an [00:56:02] incompetent governor. A very incompetent [00:56:04] governor. [00:56:07] >> Mr. President, [00:56:08] >> and by the way, he's a very corrupt [00:56:10] governor, too. Go ahead. [00:56:11] >> I have a question on Iran. But uh first [00:56:13] very quickly on Venezuela, how do you [00:56:15] provide total security guarantees to [00:56:17] these companies without putting US boots [00:56:19] on the ground? [00:56:20] >> Well, we're going to work with the [00:56:21] Venezuelan leaders and people and we're [00:56:23] going to have a very safe uh group and [00:56:26] they're going to also bring over some [00:56:27] security with them. You know, these are [00:56:29] not babies. These are people that drill [00:56:30] oil in some pretty rough places. I could [00:56:33] say a couple of those places make [00:56:35] Venezuela look like a picnic. These are [00:56:37] very these people around the table. [00:56:40] These are tough people. They go into [00:56:42] areas that you wouldn't want to go. They [00:56:45] go into areas that if they invited me, [00:56:47] I'd say, "No thanks. I'll see you back [00:56:48] in Palm Beach." Uh, no. This is a tough [00:56:51] group of people. They know how to do it. [00:56:53] But we are, in addition to that, we'll [00:56:56] have very good security for them. We're [00:56:58] going to make sure that it's very, very [00:57:00] good security. And I think the people of [00:57:02] Venezuela are going to give you very [00:57:04] good security. You know, the people, now [00:57:06] I'm not talking even leadership, the [00:57:09] people of Venezuela are going wild over [00:57:12] this. They named a street after [00:57:15] President Trump. What do you do? You [00:57:16] attack a country and they name a street? [00:57:18] That's never happened before. Although I [00:57:20] heard that's also taking place in Iran. [00:57:23] They named a street the protesters. I [00:57:25] just hope, you know, just God bless [00:57:27] them. I just hope the protesters in Iran [00:57:30] are going to be safe because that's a [00:57:32] very dangerous place right now. And [00:57:33] again, I tell the Iranian leaders, you [00:57:36] better not start shooting because we'll [00:57:38] start shooting, too. [00:57:43] >> With your glasses, sir. Go ahead, [00:57:45] please. [00:57:46] >> Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Hold it. Next [00:57:48] to you. Yes. Glasses. The gentleman with [00:57:50] the glasses. [00:57:51] >> All right. Thank you, Mr. President. [00:57:52] >> With those very big glasses, actually. [00:57:54] >> Yeah. Ferrari, actually. Um, Mr. [00:57:57] President, I have two question. Um, what [00:57:59] do you want the European Union to do in [00:58:02] Ukraine? The the European leader seem [00:58:04] pretty divided on Ukraine. And then if [00:58:07] you can reiterate this straight message [00:58:09] that you have to to the Iranian leader [00:58:11] to Kmeni, the message that you have, [00:58:13] >> you're talking about Iran. [00:58:15] >> Iran. Yeah. First Iran to do. [00:58:17] >> I'm sorry. [00:58:19] >> Where are you from? [00:58:20] >> Italy. [00:58:20] >> Oh, nice place. [00:58:22] >> Yeah. [00:58:22] >> Okay. [00:58:23] >> The first question. [00:58:24] >> So, what are you asking about Iran for? [00:58:26] Well, if you can answer um about Europe [00:58:29] and what you think the Europeans should [00:58:30] do on Ukraine and then a message. [00:58:32] >> Well, look, Europe has been doing so [00:58:34] much for Ukraine, but uh it hasn't been [00:58:37] enough. And obviously that I would say [00:58:39] that President Putin is not afraid of [00:58:42] Europe. He's afraid of the United States [00:58:44] of America as led by me. Uh there's no [00:58:47] fear of Europe. You know, Europe's [00:58:49] fallen behind and Europe then JD said it [00:58:52] very strongly. I don't know. It's uh he [00:58:54] got took a lot of heat, but I didn't [00:58:56] give him any heat. Europe is a different [00:58:58] place. Europe is changing. Europe has [00:58:59] got to get its act together. I love [00:59:01] Europe. I guess I came from Europe [00:59:03] essentially. I had uh I have my roots [00:59:06] are in Europe, but Europe is a different [00:59:09] place. They have to get their act [00:59:11] together now. They've said they have a [00:59:13] great NATO leader and they've gone up to [00:59:15] 5% from 2% GDP. That's a big step. But [00:59:19] they have to be very careful with their [00:59:21] immigration policy and they have to be [00:59:23] very because you know uh I will just say [00:59:26] to be nice that there are certain places [00:59:28] in Europe that are very important that [00:59:30] are no longer recognizable. I'm being [00:59:32] very nice. I'm being very diplomatic [00:59:34] when I say that they are not [00:59:35] recognizable [00:59:37] and they have to be careful on energy [00:59:39] because they're putting windmills all [00:59:41] over the place and losing a fortune. [00:59:43] They're destroying their country. [00:59:45] They're destroying the beautiful [00:59:46] landscapes, the beautiful everything. [00:59:48] there. They're doing, by the way, in [00:59:50] case you people don't know, I'm not much [00:59:52] of a windmill person. I can proudly say, [00:59:54] Doug, that we have not approved one [00:59:57] windmill since I've been in office. And [01:00:00] we're going to keep it that way. My goal [01:00:02] is to not let any windmill be built. [01:00:04] They're losers. They lose money. They [01:00:07] destroy your landscape. They kill your [01:00:09] birds. They're all made in China. And [01:00:12] all you have to do is uh you know, just [01:00:14] about all of the windmills are made in [01:00:16] China. the structures. All you have to [01:00:18] do is say to China, how many windmill [01:00:21] areas do you have in China? So far, [01:00:24] they're not able to find any. They use [01:00:27] coal and they use oil and gas and some [01:00:30] nuclear, not much, but they don't have [01:00:32] windmills. They make them and sell them [01:00:34] to suckers like Europe and suckers like [01:00:37] the United States before. They are the [01:00:39] worst form of energy, the most expensive [01:00:41] form of energy, and in eight years [01:00:43] they're rotted out. Anyway, go take a [01:00:46] look at Palm Springs, California, and [01:00:48] take a look at what that looks like. It [01:00:49] looks like a junkyard. A junkyard of [01:00:52] steel. So, we don't approve. And I've [01:00:54] told my people, we will not approve [01:00:56] windmills. Maybe we get forced to do [01:00:58] something because some stupid person in [01:01:01] the Biden administration agreed to do [01:01:03] something years ago. We will not approve [01:01:05] any windmills in this country. [01:01:11] on Venezuela. Is it ultimately more [01:01:12] important to you to establish stability [01:01:14] there or democracy there? [01:01:17] >> Well, you're talking about maybe the [01:01:18] same thing. I mean, you're talking about [01:01:20] stability or democracy? I don't know. To [01:01:22] me, it's almost the same thing. We want [01:01:24] stability, but we do want democracy. [01:01:26] Ultimately, it'll be democracy. Peter, [01:01:29] >> I have a policy question, President [01:01:30] Trump, but I'm having a hard time seeing [01:01:32] here. I see the American flag lapel pin. [01:01:35] What is the other lapel pin on your [01:01:37] >> Somebody gave me this. You know what [01:01:38] that is? That's called a happy Trump. [01:01:42] And considering the fact that I'm never [01:01:44] happy. I'm never satisfied. [01:01:47] I will never be satisfied until we make [01:01:50] America great again. But we're getting [01:01:51] pretty close. I'll tell you what. This [01:01:53] is called a happy Trump. Somebody gave [01:01:55] it to me. I put it on. [01:01:58] >> Thank you. Thank you. And uh the policy [01:02:00] question. How much money are you [01:02:02] thinking of giving people in Greenland [01:02:04] to get them on board with a possible US? [01:02:07] >> I'm not talking about money for [01:02:08] Greenland yet. I might talk about that, [01:02:11] but right now uh we are going to do [01:02:14] something on Greenland whether they like [01:02:15] it or not. Uh because if we don't do it, [01:02:19] Russia or China will take over Greenland [01:02:22] and we're not going to have Russia or [01:02:23] China as a neighbor. Okay? [01:02:30] I would I would like to make a deal, you [01:02:32] know, the easy way, but if we don't do [01:02:34] it the easy way, we're going to do it [01:02:35] the hard way. [01:02:40] >> And I'm a man. And by the way, I'm a fan [01:02:42] of Denmark, too. I have to tell you, and [01:02:44] I'm and you know, they've been very nice [01:02:45] to me. Uh I'm a big fan. But you know, [01:02:48] the fact that they had a boat land there [01:02:49] 500 years ago doesn't mean that they own [01:02:52] the land. Uh I'm sure we had lots of [01:02:54] boats go there also. But we need that [01:02:57] because if you take a look outside of [01:03:00] Greenland right now, there are Russian [01:03:02] destroyers. There are Chinese destroyers [01:03:04] and bigger. There are Russian submarines [01:03:07] all over the place. We're not going to [01:03:09] have Russia or China occupy Greenland. [01:03:12] And that's what they're going to do if [01:03:13] we don't. So, we're going to be doing [01:03:14] something with Greenland, either the [01:03:16] nice way or the more difficult one. [01:03:22] >> Please go ahead, ma'am. [01:03:24] >> On. Mr. President, why is it so [01:03:26] important to you to own it when you have [01:03:28] a military presence there which you [01:03:29] could expand to affect the security [01:03:32] >> because when we own it, we defend it. [01:03:34] You don't defend leases the same way. [01:03:36] You have to own it. Uh and you know, [01:03:38] with a nation, look at what happened [01:03:41] with Obama with that horrible deal they [01:03:43] made with Iran. It was a short-term [01:03:45] deal. It was like a nine-year deal. [01:03:47] Countries can't make nine-year deals or [01:03:49] even hundredyear deals. Countries have [01:03:51] to have ownership. And uh you defend [01:03:54] ownership. you don't defend leases and [01:03:56] we'll have to defend Greenland. Uh if we [01:03:58] don't do it, China or Russia will. It's [01:04:01] not going to happen. We are not going to [01:04:02] have and I like China. I like Russia. I [01:04:05] love the people of China. I love the [01:04:07] people of Russia. I get along very well [01:04:10] with President Putin, but I'm very [01:04:11] disappointed in him. I get along very [01:04:14] well with President Xi. I'm going to go [01:04:15] over to China in April, but I don't want [01:04:18] them as a neighbor in Greenland. Not [01:04:19] going to happen. And and by the way, and [01:04:22] NATO's got to understand that I'm all [01:04:25] for NATO. I save NATO. If it weren't for [01:04:27] me, you wouldn't have a NATO right now. [01:04:29] But we're not going to allow Russia or [01:04:32] China to occupy Greenland. And that's [01:04:34] what's going to happen if we don't. [01:04:39] >> Go ahead. [01:04:41] >> Mr. President, one, can you respond to [01:04:43] that? And two, [01:04:44] >> that was an amazing report. The amazing [01:04:46] and the most amazing thing is government [01:04:48] jobs are way down and yet the employment [01:04:51] came unemployment or the employment [01:04:53] numbers are very good. Uh we've gotten [01:04:56] rid of tremendous numbers of federal job [01:04:59] government jobs. Nobody's ever seen [01:05:01] anything like it. And yet the employment [01:05:03] numbers are very good. They're really [01:05:04] getting better. But now we have all [01:05:06] those people to work in the private [01:05:07] sector for a lot more money. I think [01:05:10] that's one of the very big things. The [01:05:11] other thing is at 5.4% 4%. And remember, [01:05:15] this is after we had a shutdown. And [01:05:17] that shutdown had an impact because the [01:05:19] concept of the shutdown, even though [01:05:21] it's before, people knew we were going [01:05:23] to be shutting down. A lot of bad things [01:05:25] happen. And by the way, on January 30th, [01:05:28] you may have another shutdown. We'll see [01:05:29] what happens. But, uh, I think the [01:05:32] numbers, Caitlyn, were really amazing. [01:05:34] Look, to think about 5.4%. [01:05:38] Nobody thought that. They thought it was [01:05:39] going to be 2%. And you know what it is? [01:05:41] its tariffs and it's also November 5th. [01:05:44] We had a great election uh a great great [01:05:47] election. Our country was dead one and a [01:05:50] half years ago and now we have the [01:05:52] hottest country anywhere in the world. [01:05:54] And I hope you guys were impressed. 5.4% [01:05:57] and we haven't even really transitioned [01:05:59] yet. There's no reason it can't be much [01:06:02] much higher than that. Yeah. [01:06:09] First off, can you respond to the [01:06:11] manufacturing? [01:06:11] >> Let's give CNN a chance. You know, [01:06:13] they've been fighting so hard to get [01:06:15] back into the mainstream. [01:06:16] >> Mr. President, you posted some numbers [01:06:18] actually on Truth Social last night. [01:06:19] People saying you posted the job data [01:06:21] early when you're not supposed to [01:06:22] obviously share it till the next [01:06:23] morning. Did you do that on purpose? [01:06:25] >> No. No. I don't know if they posted [01:06:27] them. I said post them whenever you get [01:06:28] a chance. I don't know. They gave me [01:06:30] some numbers. I I po When people give me [01:06:32] things, I post them. But the numbers the [01:06:35] numbers are amazing. Yeah, please. [01:06:38] >> How does the administration plan to [01:06:40] distribute the money from the Venezuela [01:06:42] oil sales? Is it go obviously you say [01:06:44] it's going to go into these controlled [01:06:45] accounts. Would it go back to Venezuela [01:06:47] in a direct payment? Is it going through [01:06:48] these goods? How do you plan to do that? [01:06:50] >> Well, we want to make sure that [01:06:51] Venezuela can survive. You know, [01:06:53] Venezuela needs money and we're going to [01:06:56] make sure that they get money and we're [01:06:58] going to get money and the oil companies [01:06:59] are going to make something for the work [01:07:01] they do and they're going to get back [01:07:02] their money. Uh we're devising a [01:07:04] formula, but it won't be so much of a [01:07:06] formula. It's going to be what they [01:07:07] need. We're going to take care of what [01:07:09] they need. There'll be plenty left over. [01:07:10] We're gonna have a lot of money left [01:07:12] over. And the money left over is going [01:07:14] to the United States of America and the [01:07:16] oil companies are going to be very [01:07:18] happy. Yeah, please. [01:07:22] >> Thank you, Mr. Would the administration [01:07:24] offer a backs stop to these oil [01:07:26] companies um for like financial [01:07:28] guarantees, some sort of backs stop if [01:07:30] the country did destabilize again? [01:07:31] That's a very interesting question using [01:07:33] the word backs stop. I haven't heard [01:07:35] that word in a long time. That was at [01:07:36] the Wharton School of Finance. I last [01:07:38] heard that's a good term. We ought to [01:07:40] use it more often. I hope I don't have [01:07:42] to give a backs stop. I'm I'm just Look, [01:07:44] these are very smart people. The [01:07:47] smartest people are not only in oil and [01:07:49] business. These are the biggest [01:07:50] companies in the world sitting around [01:07:52] this table. Uh they know the risks. I [01:07:55] mean, there are risks. We're going to [01:07:56] help them out. We're going to make it [01:07:58] real easy. They're going to be there for [01:07:59] a long time. We're going to be there [01:08:01] together for a long, long time. And [01:08:03] they're going to be taking the oil and [01:08:05] they're going to be bringing oil prices [01:08:06] down. They're going to make a lot of [01:08:08] money. They're going to get their money [01:08:09] back. They're going to be safe. Uh the [01:08:11] people of Venezuela are going to be big [01:08:13] beneficiaries. And the United States of [01:08:15] America is going to be a big beneficiary [01:08:17] for what we've done. [01:08:20] And and you know, one other thing I [01:08:22] might say, it's also very big for [01:08:24] national security because again, just [01:08:26] like Greenland, we can't have China or [01:08:28] Russia occupy Greenland. We can't have [01:08:30] China or Russia occupy Venezuela. And if [01:08:34] we didn't do what we did, China or [01:08:36] Russia would have been in Venezuela. I [01:08:39] think I can Where's Mr. Chevron? So, let [01:08:42] me ask you, they would have been there [01:08:44] if we didn't do this. Do you agree with [01:08:45] that? [01:08:47] They certainly have a lot of economic [01:08:48] interests in country. There is [01:08:49] absolutely no argument about that. [01:08:51] >> They were trying to be there. I mean, [01:08:53] you know, we had a Russia, I guess sort [01:08:56] of semi I call it a semi-Russian ship [01:08:59] yesterday that we took over and Russia [01:09:02] decided not to defend that ship against [01:09:04] us. It's a big movement. Uh the ship was [01:09:08] loaded up with oil and we took the oil [01:09:10] and it came out of that port. But Russia [01:09:13] would be there or China would be there [01:09:15] and we want them to be there for a [01:09:16] different reason. We want them do you [01:09:18] people agree uh in particular China they [01:09:22] need a lot of oil. Russia doesn't need [01:09:24] so much but Russia was there anyway. But [01:09:27] I assume you agree that China would like [01:09:29] to be doing a lot of business there by [01:09:31] buying oil. And I want to just tell [01:09:33] President Xi and President Putin, but [01:09:36] more so in this case, President Xi, [01:09:37] because they do need a lot of oil and we [01:09:41] are open for business in the United [01:09:43] States and we are open for business in [01:09:45] Venezuela. Right. [01:09:52] >> Go ahead. Sure. [01:09:53] >> Mr. President, I could take questions [01:09:56] from these people all day long. You [01:09:58] know, they're sitting here and generally [01:10:00] they're very rich, very powerful, but [01:10:03] nobody gives a damn about them. It's a [01:10:05] sad thing. You have all that money, all [01:10:07] that power, and look at all these crazy [01:10:09] questions. We could do this all day long [01:10:11] and they wouldn't be satisfied. [01:10:13] >> On today's meeting, we'll take a few [01:10:15] more question. [01:10:17] >> Do you have Let me ask you more [01:10:18] importantly, do you have any questions [01:10:19] from the biggest [01:10:22] >> Hold it. Do you have any questions for [01:10:24] the biggest people on earth? the biggest [01:10:26] business people, the biggest companies [01:10:29] anywhere on earth. Do you have any [01:10:31] questions for these people? [01:10:34] >> No. No. Do you have a question for them? [01:10:37] >> Go ahead. Go ahead. Ask them a [01:10:38] >> question. [01:10:41] Rebuilding the oil infrastructure in [01:10:44] Venezuela. And for the executives in the [01:10:46] room, what do you need from the [01:10:48] administration in order to invest? [01:10:50] >> That's a good question. Uh, do you want [01:10:52] to go and answer that question? [01:10:54] >> Yeah. Exon [01:10:57] I'll refer you back this the statements [01:10:59] I made before. There are a number of [01:11:01] legal and commercial frameworks that [01:11:03] would have to be established to even [01:11:04] understand what kind of returns that [01:11:06] we'd get on the investments. So I think [01:11:08] all the investments and the opportunity [01:11:10] sets I think everyone sitting around [01:11:12] this table would have the opportunity [01:11:14] and the knowhow and the capability to [01:11:16] make the investments. The questions will [01:11:18] ultimately be how durable are the [01:11:20] protections from a financial standpoint? [01:11:22] What are the returns look like? What are [01:11:24] the the commercial arrangements, the [01:11:25] legal frameworks, all those things have [01:11:27] to be put in place in order to make a [01:11:29] decision to understand what your return [01:11:31] would be over the next several decades [01:11:33] that these billion dollars investments [01:11:35] would be made on. [01:11:37] >> You know, uh could I do this because we [01:11:40] have again the biggest people on the [01:11:42] planet earth around this table, biggest [01:11:45] companies in the world. I'd like to just [01:11:47] ask him to introduce himself. We'll [01:11:50] start from this end and go around to [01:11:52] here. And uh if you have anything to [01:11:54] quickly say, we could do that. But you [01:11:56] want to just start right over here. [01:11:58] These two guys, we'll leave them out [01:12:00] because they're they're with us, please. [01:12:02] Thank you, President Trump. John Addison [01:12:04] at VTOL. We are here to ensure that you [01:12:06] are going to be able to move all of this [01:12:08] oil all around the world at the best [01:12:09] price possible so that the influence [01:12:12] that you have over the Venezuelans will [01:12:14] ensure that you get what you want. [01:12:17] >> Thank you. Thank you. Good point. [01:12:20] >> Thank you, Mr. President. Brian [01:12:21] Sheffield of Foreman. [01:12:23] My grandfather, Hugh Sheffield, was [01:12:26] president of Arco, Venezuela. [01:12:28] >> Right. [01:12:30] >> Thank you for what you did. [01:12:31] >> Do you like what we're doing? [01:12:33] >> There's a lot of shell there. A lot of [01:12:35] upside. [01:12:36] >> He would be very happy looking down. [01:12:37] He'd be very proud of you right now, [01:12:39] right? [01:12:39] >> Yes, sir. [01:12:40] >> Good. Thank you, [01:12:42] >> Mr. President. Lu Rodriguez, I'm [01:12:45] probably the only Venezuelan American [01:12:48] sitting on this around this table. I I [01:12:52] want to personally thank you for the [01:12:53] courage of your actions over the last [01:12:55] couple of weeks. Uh I I think I speak [01:13:00] and I I I speak of Venezuela in general [01:13:03] in saying there's optimism. You've [01:13:06] brought optimism to the table and if the [01:13:10] conditions are met, the opportunity is [01:13:13] absolutely immense. [01:13:14] >> I agree with that. That's true. Thank [01:13:16] you. Well said, too. It's immense. This [01:13:19] is a tremendous opportunity. Thank you. [01:13:23] >> Richard Holton from Trafigura. We're [01:13:25] working with your administration, Mr. [01:13:27] President, to bring that Venezuelan oil [01:13:29] to the United States. Our first vessel [01:13:31] should load in the next week. Great. [01:13:33] >> Good job. Thank you. [01:13:36] I think the reason that most of us are [01:13:39] here and and thinking about the future [01:13:42] is because we trust you initially to set [01:13:45] this program up that will work and [01:13:47] guarantee [01:13:49] uh that this can be done and there's a [01:13:51] huge investment that needs to be done. [01:13:53] We've all agreed on that and certainly [01:13:56] we need time to see that through. So, [01:13:59] thank you for what you've done. [01:14:01] >> Thank you very much. Thank you, [01:14:03] >> Mr. President. I'm Lane Riggs, CEO of [01:14:05] Aero Energy, and we're one of those [01:14:07] companies that refineries in the US are [01:14:09] uniquely configured to run Venezuelan [01:14:11] oil, and we're more than happy as this [01:14:13] opportunity expands for us to further [01:14:15] invest in our refineries to to produce [01:14:17] more of it. [01:14:18] >> And you're very much set up for the [01:14:20] heavy oil, right? [01:14:21] >> Yes, sir. [01:14:21] >> That's great. That's great. We're really [01:14:23] We're ready for it. [01:14:27] >> Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you for [01:14:29] having us here. and thank you for [01:14:32] opening the door to a better Venezuela. [01:14:35] We are an Spanish company, but we are [01:14:37] fully committed to invest here in the [01:14:39] states. We have invested over the last [01:14:41] 15 years $21 billion dollar in the [01:14:45] American oil and gas industry in [01:14:48] Pennsylvania, in the Gulf of America, in [01:14:50] Texas and in Alaska with the discovery [01:14:53] of PA that is going to have the first [01:14:56] toll this quarter and is going to change [01:14:59] is going to reverse the declining [01:15:01] history of that great state of Alaska. [01:15:03] We are in Venezuela, Mr. President, with [01:15:06] our partners of ENI. We produce the gas [01:15:10] that guarantees the stability of a half [01:15:12] of the grid power in Venezuela. So we [01:15:15] are committed with this stability and on [01:15:17] top of that we are on the ground. We [01:15:19] have people. We have facilities. We have [01:15:22] technical capabilities. And I take your [01:15:24] point, Mr. President. We are ready to [01:15:26] invest more in Venezuela. Today we are [01:15:29] producing 45,000 barrels a day uh gross [01:15:33] of oil and we are ready to multiply by [01:15:38] three this figure in coming two three [01:15:40] years investing hard in the country [01:15:43] following your recommendation if you [01:15:45] allow us of course and in the framework [01:15:48] commercial and legal framework that [01:15:50] could allow this growth. So thank you [01:15:52] Mr. President. [01:15:52] >> Thank you great job you've done. Thank [01:15:54] you [01:15:55] >> Mr. President. Thank you for having me. [01:15:57] Matt Sheihi. I'm with Tall Grass Energy. [01:15:59] We are an infrastructure business. So [01:16:01] whether it's oil, gas, CO2, we move that [01:16:03] around. So most of my customers are [01:16:05] sitting around the table and uh happy to [01:16:07] lend our expertise to what's going on in [01:16:09] Venezuela uh to support the people um [01:16:12] and uh and obviously infrastructure is [01:16:14] going to be critical to uh to see it [01:16:15] repaired. Thank you. [01:16:16] >> Thank you, [01:16:18] >> Mr. President. Thank you. An honor to be [01:16:20] here. Maryanne Manon, Marathon [01:16:21] Petroleum. Uh we are one of the largest [01:16:24] US refiners. On behalf of the men and [01:16:26] women of Marathon Petroleum and of our [01:16:28] industry, uh, thank you and the [01:16:30] administration for what you're doing for [01:16:31] US energy independence, we have the [01:16:34] ability and the capability of our assets [01:16:36] to process Venezuelan crude and the [01:16:38] people of Marathon Petroleum stand ready [01:16:40] to do so. [01:16:41] >> Do we need more refineries in our [01:16:43] country? [01:16:44] >> In the US, probably not. We have [01:16:46] sufficient capacity. [01:16:47] >> That's amazing. A lot of it was approved [01:16:49] during my first term. We were getting [01:16:51] you approvals that nobody could have [01:16:52] gotten in Louisiana and other places and [01:16:54] they got built. Before that it was a [01:16:57] disaster. We didn't have the refineries. [01:16:59] Now we do because of the first term. [01:17:01] Please [01:17:03] Darren Woods Exon Mobile. [01:17:06] >> Okay, we'll go over here. [01:17:08] >> Thank you, Mr. President. Uh Jeff [01:17:10] Hildbrand, founder uh and chairman of [01:17:12] Hillcorp Energy, one of the private [01:17:15] energy companies in America. [01:17:17] >> Who's bigger, you or Harold? We're [01:17:20] close, [01:17:20] >> huh? [01:17:21] >> We're close. Harold. Harold. Absolutely, [01:17:24] Mr. Ham. Uh, but thank you for your uh [01:17:27] great tremendous leadership in [01:17:29] protecting the interest in Western [01:17:30] Hemisphere. The message that you have [01:17:33] sent to China and our enemies to stay [01:17:35] out of our backyard is absolutely [01:17:37] fantastic. So, thank you. [01:17:39] >> Thank you very much. [01:17:40] >> And finally, Hill Corp is fully [01:17:42] committed and ready to go to rebuilding [01:17:44] the infrastructure in Venezuela. [01:17:45] >> You'll go there. You'll be going. [01:17:47] >> Yes. [01:17:47] >> Good. That's good. you'll be very happy. [01:17:50] >> Thank you very much. [01:17:52] >> Uh thank you, Mr. President. Jeff [01:17:54] Miller, uh CEO Hallebertton Company. We [01:17:57] are the largest American oil field [01:17:59] services company. Were the second [01:18:01] largest in the world, been in business [01:18:03] over a hundred years. Started operations [01:18:05] in Venezuela in 19 38. Uh long time in [01:18:09] Venezuela. Um I personally lived there [01:18:12] for four years and raised my kids there. [01:18:15] So quite familiar with Venezuela and [01:18:18] just couldn't express [01:18:20] >> gratitude more so for the opportunity to [01:18:23] return to Venezuela under uh the [01:18:26] stability that I know that this team and [01:18:29] your team are able to deliver. And so [01:18:31] >> when did you leave? [01:18:32] >> Huh? [01:18:32] >> When did you leave Venezuela? [01:18:34] >> Uh as a company we left under the [01:18:36] sanctions in 2019. So we had intended to [01:18:39] stay and then when the sanctions went [01:18:40] into place we were required to leave. uh [01:18:43] but very much interested in returning. [01:18:45] Have 600 Venezuelans with Albertan today [01:18:48] all around the world. Look forward to [01:18:50] putting them back to work. [01:18:51] >> Great job. Great job. You'll be back. [01:18:55] >> Please, [01:18:56] >> Mr. President. I'm Alex Cranberg. Uh my [01:18:58] company, Aspect Energy, is one of the [01:19:00] leading American international [01:19:02] wildcatterers. We found significant [01:19:04] fields and central [01:19:05] >> Are you a wilder? [01:19:07] >> I'm a wildcatterer. [01:19:08] >> That's pretty cool. Well, I'll tell you, [01:19:09] I would have been a wild cat or two if I [01:19:11] wasn't and and you've been successfully [01:19:14] wilding. [01:19:15] >> We've uh we found significant fields in [01:19:17] Central and South America, in the Middle [01:19:19] East, and in Europe, we're leading oil [01:19:21] producer in Hungary. [01:19:23] >> But our probably the most pertinent [01:19:25] example is our is what a wildcatterer [01:19:27] does is take on risk and try to reduce [01:19:29] it. Then other people come in and put [01:19:31] more capital in later. So, we're kind of [01:19:32] kickstarters in the oil industry. We [01:19:35] went into Kurdistan very early on back [01:19:38] when people told us it wasn't safe and [01:19:40] we shouldn't do it. [01:19:41] >> We found a big field there and it [01:19:43] ultimately has got to be developed uh [01:19:45] along with one of my colleagues here to [01:19:47] be one of the big leading fields in [01:19:49] Kurdistan. Uh we think that Venezuela [01:19:52] has a tremendous amount of opportunity. [01:19:54] If you look at the reinvestment [01:19:56] required, the investment required, [01:19:57] people are talking about hundreds of [01:19:58] billions of dollars. But if you put that [01:20:00] in perspective, that's a million barrels [01:20:02] a day for 15 years is $220 billion net [01:20:05] cash flow. So what we really need to do [01:20:08] is to be able to kickstart production [01:20:10] and then reinvest and have the [01:20:12] confidence to reinvest. And what you're [01:20:14] doing by putting the United States in [01:20:16] control of the cash flow coming out of [01:20:18] the country gives country companies like [01:20:20] ours the confidence to say we can [01:20:21] kickstart this production and then [01:20:23] reinvest and reinvest. In Hungary, we've [01:20:26] invested a billion dollars in changing [01:20:27] the trajectory of Hungarian oil [01:20:29] production. And we were only able to do [01:20:31] that not because we could write a [01:20:33] billion dollar check. We're a smaller [01:20:35] company, but because we reinvest all the [01:20:37] cash flow back into new production. [01:20:39] >> Good [01:20:41] Mark. Mark Nelson with Chevron again. [01:20:48] >> Thank you, Mr. President. I'm Clausy and [01:20:50] ICO Italy. We we started working in [01:20:55] Venezuela in 1980. We have a lot of oil, [01:20:59] but now just the gas is flowing because [01:21:01] it's not under sanction. And as my [01:21:04] colleague from Refle said, we cover more [01:21:06] than about 50% of the uh electricity in [01:21:10] the country. So that is essential to [01:21:12] avoid any kind of problem social [01:21:15] problem. Uh we own about four billion [01:21:20] barol reserves. So a huge amounts in the [01:21:23] or in Okabel in the central Venezuela. [01:21:26] We have now in in the country 500 people [01:21:31] most Venezuelan and uh we are ready to [01:21:35] invest. Clearly we are ready to invest. [01:21:37] We thank you for what for the big [01:21:39] efforts and the efficiency of our your [01:21:43] action and uh we are here and uh we are [01:21:45] here to work together with the US. We [01:21:49] are also big investor in in in the U in [01:21:52] US. So uh we thank you again and uh we [01:21:56] are there and uh we are all also ready [01:21:59] to join with American companies in our [01:22:02] assets to develop and go faster with [01:22:05] good investors and good uh knowhow from [01:22:08] the US company. [01:22:09] >> Yeah. [01:22:10] >> Thank you. [01:22:10] >> You've done a great job. Thank you very [01:22:12] much. [01:22:15] >> Mr. President Ross Perau, good to see [01:22:17] you again. I'm chairman of Hillwood and [01:22:19] HKN Energy. been in the energy business [01:22:21] 45 years and we have been working with [01:22:24] your team quite a bit. We have been in [01:22:26] Kurdistan now for 19 years along with [01:22:29] Alex and built a very good business. But [01:22:31] now with your team, we're looking in [01:22:32] Syria. We're now in Libya and so we are [01:22:35] very excited to look at Venezuela with [01:22:37] you and your group and look forward to [01:22:40] uh continue to build this great [01:22:41] industry. [01:22:42] >> Thank you very much. [01:22:43] >> Thank you, [01:22:44] >> Mr. President. Thank you for having us [01:22:46] here today. Wan from Shell. Uh, of [01:22:49] course we have a huge presence here in [01:22:50] the US in the Gulf as well as in [01:22:53] Pennsylvania with a prochemical facility [01:22:55] which I think we had the opportunity to [01:22:56] host you at as well as being one of the [01:22:59] largest LNG offtakers of American LNG. [01:23:03] We have been in Venezuela for a very [01:23:04] long time. We actually drilled in 1914 [01:23:07] the first well that discovered oil in [01:23:09] Venezuela and on the back of which the [01:23:12] entire energy industry was established [01:23:14] in Venezuela. When we left in the 1970s [01:23:17] because of nationalization, we had a [01:23:19] million barrels per day of production, [01:23:21] but we have kept boots on the ground in [01:23:23] Venezuela all this time and we now have [01:23:26] a few billion dollars worth of [01:23:27] opportunities to invest in subject to [01:23:29] OFAC approval. So, we are ready to go [01:23:32] and looking forward to the investments [01:23:33] uh in support of of the Venezuelan [01:23:36] people. [01:23:36] >> That's great. Thank you very much. [01:23:39] >> Uh thank you, Mr. President. Ben [01:23:40] Marshall, the America's CEO for VTOL um [01:23:43] alongside Traffic. are very thankful to [01:23:45] have worked with the government and the [01:23:47] Venezuelans to be able to bring the [01:23:48] crude oil to market at a market price as [01:23:50] quickly as we can to help stabilize the [01:23:52] country. Thank you. [01:23:53] >> Thank you, [01:23:55] >> Ryan Lancele Phillips. I'll defer to my [01:23:57] colleagues. [01:23:59] >> Thank you, Mr. President. Olivia Lash, [01:24:01] CEO of SLB of formerly known as Schlmer, [01:24:04] the largest global allfield services. We [01:24:07] have been in Venezuela since 1930 and we [01:24:10] still operate. We operate today on the [01:24:12] ground with in support of Chevron. We [01:24:15] have ability to scale. We have 1100 [01:24:18] Venezuelan in the company, 2,000 [01:24:20] additional that are calling us to go [01:24:22] back to country and to go back to work. [01:24:24] We're able to mobilize in less uh in the [01:24:26] last 18 months, two weeks and deliver 50 [01:24:30] wells with success. So we're here, we [01:24:32] have knowledge of the subsurface like [01:24:34] nobody else has. We have boots on the [01:24:36] ground, capacity on the ground, $700 [01:24:38] million of equipment value on the ground [01:24:42] in Venezuela, ready to mobilize for all [01:24:44] of our partners, customers. So, we're [01:24:47] ready to scale fast and we really want [01:24:50] to thank the administration, Secretary [01:24:52] Wright, Secretary Bergen for the effort [01:24:54] they are supporting and giving us to be [01:24:57] successful on behalf of the Venezuelan [01:24:59] oil and gas industry. Thank you very [01:25:01] much. [01:25:01] >> Thank you very much. [01:25:04] >> Well, check this out. They save the very [01:25:06] best for last [01:25:08] and I don't have that sexy accent like [01:25:09] this guy next to me here. Uh, Mr. [01:25:12] President, my name's Bill Armstrong of [01:25:14] Armstrong Oil and Gas. I'm private [01:25:16] independent guy. And in real estate, you [01:25:19] were a wildcatterer. So where that [01:25:23] motto proudly. Uh, but like you, I was a [01:25:27] my own guy and I don't have [01:25:29] shareholders. I don't have private [01:25:31] equity partners, but I've been drilling [01:25:33] all over the place. In fact, I had the [01:25:35] largest discovery in Alaska, uh, biggest [01:25:37] discovery in 50 years in our country. I [01:25:40] now control 8 million acres adjacent to [01:25:43] Venezuela. So, I'm already heavily [01:25:44] invested in the area. We share a 150 [01:25:47] mile border with Venezuela in the [01:25:49] countries of Aruba and Kursowl. And we [01:25:52] are ready to go to Venezuela. It is in [01:25:55] in real estate terms, it is prime real [01:25:58] estate. And it's kind of like West Palm [01:26:00] about 50 years ago. [01:26:02] >> Yeah. very right. [01:26:04] >> Yep. I agree with you. Thank you. [01:26:06] Congratulations. [01:26:08] >> So, I think what we're going to do is uh [01:26:11] speak without the press to these [01:26:14] gentlemen, see what kind of a deal we [01:26:15] can make. Uh we're going to get them [01:26:17] involved. I'm going to ask uh Doug and [01:26:21] Chris and some of the people that we [01:26:23] have from the business standpoint [01:26:25] representing our country to uh start [01:26:28] talking about the confines of a deal. We [01:26:30] have I have an idea what I want, what I [01:26:33] think we should have. Uh we have to get [01:26:35] them to invest and then we have to get [01:26:37] their money back as quickly as we can [01:26:39] and then we can divvy it all up between [01:26:40] Venezuela, the United States and them. [01:26:44] Um I think it's simple. I think the [01:26:45] formula is simple. We start with a brand [01:26:47] new plate and it's going to be a [01:26:49] tremendous success. I think it's going [01:26:51] to be probably like few other things [01:26:53] could ever be. You don't there's so much [01:26:56] there's so much uh Venezuela's been uh [01:27:00] really taken advantage of by a lot of [01:27:02] people because they drill very little. I [01:27:04] mean as much as you hear they have they [01:27:06] drill very very little very small [01:27:08] percentage but now that'll change and [01:27:10] it'll change very rapidly because these [01:27:12] are the biggest people and it'll change [01:27:13] very rapidly. So if you don't mind I'll [01:27:16] ask the press to leave and we will see [01:27:18] what kind of a deal we're going to make [01:27:20] with these geniuses and uh I think [01:27:22] you're going to come out very good. [01:27:23] Thank you all very much. Thank you. [01:27:25] Thank you. Thank you.