Energy Dept. draws fire for slow pace of Venezuelan oil deals

Eight months after President Trump promised U.S. companies would rapidly rebuild Venezuela's oil industry, not a single new petroleum deal has been finalized. The U.S. Department of Energy is drawing fire for the slow pace, Axios reports, citing oil industry professionals and U.S. officials. Rising oil prices from the Iran war have made Venezuela's vast reserves — the world's largest — an increasingly urgent target. But internal tension within the Trump administration has stalled progress: MAGA loyalists want speed and favor smaller wildcatter companies, while cautious Energy Department bureaucrats prefer a slower, more collaborative approach. State Department officials have recently stepped in to push deals forward, with some potentially closing by month's end.

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