Senate Democrats on Wednesday launched an investigation into what American oil companies may have known before the Trump administration seized control of Venezuela, ousted its leader and took control of the country’s oil industry.
Five lawmakers sent letters to the chief executives of eight major oil companies, asking them to disclose all meetings with administration officials in which Venezuelan oil assets and related issues were discussed.
“We would like to know the extent to which U.S. oil and gas companies such as yours had either advance knowledge of or the ability to shape American foreign policy decisions —especially given that Congress was kept in the dark concerning the use of force until after the strikes occurred,” the senators wrote.
The letters were signed by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts Peter Welch of Vermont and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts separately sent his own inquiries to the companies.
The letters were addressed to executives at Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, Conoco Phillips, BP America Inc., Citgo Petroleum Corp., Continental Resources, Halliburton, SLB, Weatherford International and Baker Hughes.
“We’re closely watching developments involving Venezuela and any potential implications for global energy markets,” Bethany Williams, a spokeswoman for the American Petroleum Institute, a trade group that represents major oil and gas companies, said in a statement.
President Trump said on Sunday that he had spoken “basically” with American oil companies before the United States military seized Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro.
“Before and after,” Mr. Trump told reporters. “And they want to go in.”
The senators asked for any information that had been relayed by administration officials regarding the costs associated with rebuilding Venezuela’s oil industry, and how much of that tab might be borne by the public. “American taxpayers cannot afford to take on these expenses,” they wrote.
Lisa Friedman is a Times reporter who writes about how governments are addressing climate change and the effects of those policies on communities.
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