President Trump on Friday called on top oil magnates to invest in new oil production projects in Venezuela as a deal with Caracas is around the corner, urging them to “rip out the old crap” and build new drilling infrastructure.

“We’re going to discuss how these great American companies can help rapidly rebuild Venezuela’s dilapidated oil industry and bring millions of barrels of oil production to benefit the United States, the people of Venezuela and the entire world,” Trump said at the meeting with nearly two dozen top oil executives at the White House.

Trump said what’s left of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro’s regime would work out a deal for Washington to oversee its oil sales — after he ordered Maduro arrested in a raid on Saturday. He encouraged the American oil companies to invest in Venezuela’s market.

“I hope you’re going to build all brand new stuff, rip out the old crap that’s been there for so many years and do it the right way,” he said. “If we make a deal, you’re going to be there a long time.

“If we don’t make a deal, you won’t be there at all,” he added, indicating he would not support US investment in Venezuela if Caracas doesn’t play ball.

For years, US oil companies have pulled out of Venezuela over Maduro’s instability and Washington’s sanctions on Caracas. Initially levied in 2005, Trump raised those sanctions in 2019 to further squeeze Maduro, and last year let secret Biden-granted licenses for some companies to operate in Venezuela expire.

With Maduro gone and the US dictating what his successor and former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez does with the leverage gained in the raid, Trump told the oil industry leaders that he would guarantee their security if they choose to invest in Venezuela following a deal.

 “You have total safety, total security,” Trump told the executives. “One of the reasons you couldn’t go in [before] is you had no guarantees, you had no security. But now you have total security. It’s a whole different Venezuela.”

Under the proposed arrangement, the US will dictate which companies get to pump Venezuelan oil, and Caracas’ portion of the proceeds will be placed in a fund overseen by Washington to purchase goods from the US for Venezuela.

“Venezuela is going to be very successful, and the people of the United States are going to be big beneficiaries, because we’re going to be extracting numbers of in terms of oil like few people have ever seen actually,” he said. “So you’re dealing with us directly.”

Trump said the initiative was a continuation of his “drill, baby, drill” promise on the campaign trail to revitalize the US oil market and drive down the price of gas.

Now, the plan is for “our giant oil companies” to spend “at least $100 billion of their money, not the government’s money,” to invest in new oil infrastructure in Venezuela to replace the aging facilities abandoned when American companies left the country.

“They don’t need government money, but they need government protection and need government security,” Trump said of US oil companies interested in the Venezuelan market. “When they spend all this money, [the protection] is going to be there so they get their money back and make a very nice return.”

In addition, Venezuela has already “agreed that the United States will immediately begin refining and selling up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan crude oil, which will continue indefinitely.”

That crude, which was not drilled by US companies, has been trapped in Venezuela during Trump’s blockade of its oil ports.

“We’re all set to do it,” he said. “We have the refining capacity — [which] was actually based very much on the Venezuelan oil, which is a heavy oil, very good oil, great oil.”

Investing in oil refineries was a hallmark of Trump’s first term in office, one that oil industry leaders at the meeting said set the US up to be able to process Venezuela’s thick, sludge-like oil into a usable product.

“It’s fantastic for certain things like asphalt roads — best there is in the world for asphalt roads and other things,” he said. 

Trump said the White House would make a decision on which oil companies the US would allow into Venezuela soon after the meeting. 

The administration will then hammer out a deal with the de facto Venezuelan government.

“All of the companies here today are going to be treasured partners in bringing the nation of Venezuela back to life, restoring its economy and generating great wealth for their companies and for their people, and also great wealth for the American people, and tremendous wealth for the companies that are going in,” Trump said.

“And if you don’t want to go in, just let me know, because I got 25 other people that aren’t here today that are willing to take your place,” he added.