WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is selectively removing sanctions on Venezuelan oil to allow its export and sale in global markets, the White House announced on Jan. 7. According to a new policy statement, all proceeds from the oil sales will be controlled by the U.S. government and distributed for the benefit of the Venezuelan and American people.

“The United States government has already begun marketing Venezuelan crude oil in the global marketplace for the benefit of the United States, engaged the world’s leading commodity marketers, key banks to execute and provide financial support for these crude oil and crude product sales,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Jan. 7.

Leavitt echoed a statement released by the Energy Department explaining the administration’s new policies toward the disposition of Venezuelan oil.

According to the statement, all proceeds from the oil sales will “first settle in U.S. controlled accounts at globally recognized banks.”

As part of this policy, the United States will soon receive 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil from the South American nation, President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 6.

“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Leavitt explained that the oil arriving in the United States is sanctioned oil that had been stored in barrels and left on ships because of the sanctions.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright also said on Jan. 7 that the United States will control the sale of Venezuelan oil “indefinitely.”

Speaking at a Goldman Sachs conference in Miami, Wright said: “Instead of the oil being blockaded, as it is right now, we’re going to let the market, let the oil flow, sell that market to United States refineries and to around the world.

“And then from there, those funds can flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people, but we need to have that leverage and that control of those oil sales to drive the changes that simply must happen in Venezuela.”

Leavitt said Trump will hold a meeting with executives of U.S. oil companies on Jan. 9.

Venezuela, a founding member of OPEC, was once one of the world’s leading oil producers. The country sits atop the world’s largest proven oil reserves. However, its crude oil production has fallen in recent years, mainly because of the regime’s mismanagement.

Trump shared his plans for Venezuelan oil during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Jan. 3, soon after the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, emphasizing the significant role U.S. oil companies will play in restoring the country’s oil production.

“We’re going to have our very large United States oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country,” Trump said.

The United States will be taking “a tremendous amount of wealth out of the ground,” he said. He also indicated that oil revenues would be used to compensate people who were taken advantage of.