(Bloomberg) – Venezuela canceled an auction of assets seized from Halliburton Co. after the Trump administration intervened to stop the sale, as President Donald Trump seeks to smooth the return of U.S. oil companies to the South American country.
U.S. government officials pressed Venezuela’s new leader to cancel the auction after a Halliburton executive met Trump and raised the issue with him in January, according to people familiar with the situation, asking to not be identified discussing a private matter.
The move is expected to clear smooth the path for the Houston-based company’s return to Venezuela — an OPEC producer — as Trump seeks to raise oil output in the South American country, said the people.
“The President and his team are working closely with the interim government to restore Venezuela’s oil industry to benefit the American and Venezuelan people,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said.
Halliburton, state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA and the country’s Information Ministry didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Halliburton shut down its primary operations in Venezuela in 2020 after the US tightened sanctions on the regime of Nicolás Maduro. Local workers filed a suit against the company the following year seeking unpaid benefits.
In December, a Venezuelan court ordered the sale of equipment, including trucks, power plants, forklifts, haulers, loaders, tower lights and cranes, which is valued at nearly $6.6 million, according to a notice in a national newspaper.
Days after the Venezuelan court order on the auction, Halliburton filed a lawsuit against Venezuela at the World Bank’s international arbitration court.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Venezuela earlier this month and met acting President Delcy Rodriguez. “We spoke very candidly today about the tremendous opportunities in front of us and some of the problems and challenges, and we committed to work together and move ahead to solve them,” Wright said shortly afterward.
In the same week, a Halliburton team visited facilities in Zulia and Monagas states, where they hold assets still under their control, people familiar with the matter said.
Halliburton Chief Executive Officer Jeff Miller said last month the company was ready to quickly restart work in Venezuela once it obtained U.S. government approval and some sort of payment protections.
“I’m excited about the tremendous opportunity for Halliburton in Venezuela,” Miller told investors during a conference call. “We can mobilize in weeks.”
