US President Donald Trump said on Friday he planned to visit Venezuela and reiterated satisfaction with its interim leader, as his administration authorised five major oil companies to operate in the country.

"I'm going to make a visit to Venezuela," Trump told reporters on Friday, while adding that the date had not been decided.

On Friday, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) granted general licences to BP, Chevron, Eni, Repsol and Shell authorising transactions related to oil or gas sector operations in Venezuela, with certain conditions.

The two-page general licence issued by OFAC requires any payments in oil and gas royalties go to accounts designated by the US Treasury Department, which is consistent with Trump administration statements that Washington will manage assets in custody for the benefit of Venezuela.

The country produced 1.2 million oil barrels per day in 2025 – up from a historic low of about 360,000 in 2020 – but still far from the 3.0 million bpd it was pumping 25 years ago. (AFP)