He was speaking at the White House with the US president Donald Trump and representatives from 17 oil companies. Demands and first legal changesTrump has claimed the US could be making money from Venezuelan oil in 18 months. Venezuelan oil experts say this will require a fiscal and contractual framework that does not exist today, and a decade of “arduous democratic work”. This has been attributed to news that the first sale of Venezuelan oil through the US will generate US$330 million. Whether these reforms will bring the stability US oil companies need to safely (and profitably) operate remains to be seen.