U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright [Reuters=Yonhap News]

U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced that he will visit Venezuela to discuss oil issues.

Secretary Wright is the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Venezuela since the U.S. apprehended and extradited former President Nicolas Maduro in a surprise military operation.

In an interview with Politico, a U.S. political media outlet, on the 9th (local time), Secretary Wright stated that he would visit Venezuela soon to discuss the future of the state-owned oil company, without mentioning a specific date.

Secretary Wright emphasized that the U.S. expulsion of Maduro was "not for the purpose of increasing oil supply" and that Venezuela's status as the country with the world's largest oil reserves was "not a significant consideration in the decision-making process."

He reiterated that Venezuela under Maduro "was a threat to all its neighbors and the Western Hemisphere, and a major exporter of drugs and criminals," asserting that Maduro's expulsion had no relation to Venezuela's abundant oil reserves.

Following Maduro's arrest and extradition, U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to rebuild Venezuela's oil industry for the benefit of American consumers.

Secretary Wright's visit to Venezuela is expected to focus on the restructuring of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA.

Secretary Wright plans to meet with interim President Delcy Rodríguez and energy industry officials during his visit to Venezuela, emphasizing that "meeting these individuals face-to-face is the top priority of this visit."

He specifically stated that improving PDVSA's management would be a major agenda item and that he would initiate discussions with the Venezuelan side regarding PDVSA's future leadership.

The U.S. has viewed PDVSA as an obstacle preventing international oil capital from entering Venezuela.

Venezuelan oil field [EPA=Yonhap News]

Secretary Wright commented that while "PDVSA was a very professional and technically capable oil and gas company 30 years ago," it had not been so since then.

Regarding Venezuela's abandonment of oil nationalization, he said, "The bill passed quite quickly, which is a gesture of improvement very early in the new relationship between the U.S. and Venezuela," adding that Venezuela, like the U.S., also hoped for swift foreign capital investment.

Meanwhile, Venezuela's crude oil production has reportedly recovered to near pre-U.S. operation levels for Maduro's arrest.

Reuters reported today, citing sources, that Venezuela's crude oil production has recovered to an average of about 1 million barrels per day.

According to Reuters, PDVSA has reversed most of the production cuts implemented in oil fields such as the Orinoco Belt, raising crude oil production to about 1 million barrels per day.

Venezuela had to reduce crude oil production in December last year when the Trump administration implemented oil blockade measures to pressure Maduro's regime.

Venezuela's crude oil production, which had significantly decreased from 1.16 million barrels per day at the end of November last year, just before the U.S. blockade, had fallen to 880,000 barrels per day by early this month.