Update (Wednesday):

Following President Trump's overnight Truth Social post that Venezuela would transfer "30 to 50 million barrels of high-quality, sanctioned oil" to the U.S., Energy Secretary Chris Wright outlined next steps for both the oil and the sales proceeds during remarks at a Goldman Sachs conference.

Earlier, Wright was featured at the Goldman Energy, Clean Tech & Utilities Conference in Miami. He told the audience, including executives from Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and other major oil and gas majors, about the Trump administration's plans for Venezuela's oil sector following last weekend's regime change led by America's Delta Force operators (implying the toppling of Nicolás Maduro).

Wright opened the discussion by describing the "horrific" two-decade decline of Venezuela under the Maduro socialist regime. He said the country was once "one of the shining stars" of South America but, under socialist rule, descended into a hellhole of narcoterrorism.

"We want to change the game in Venezuela, fix the country so it's a productive member of the Western Hemisphere. So it's an ally of the United States and a major oil supplier to the world. But the old ways weren't working. This started with an oil blockade. They [Maduro's socialist regime] get money two ways: selling oil and selling drugs," Wright explained.

He continued, "We ultimately want to be cut off completely from drugs and grow the selling of oil. But in the short term, there was a blockade - a major cash flow source - that pinched the heads of Venezuela to get them out of power."

Wright went on to describe Venezuela's oil market in a post-Maduro world: "Now we have a different arrangement. Instead of the oil being blockaded, as it is right now, we're going to let the oil flow. Sell that oil to U.S. refineries and to markets around the world to improve global oil supplies. But those sales will be conducted by the U.S. government, with the proceeds deposited into accounts controlled by the U.S. government. From there, the funds can flow back into Venezuela to benefit the Venezuelan people."

"We need to use the leverage from those oil sales to drive the change that simply must happen in Venezuela, so it is no longer a drug threat, a kidnapping threat, a gun-running threat, or an enabler of our adversaries in the hemisphere. Venezuela has been a train wreck for the U.S. and the American people, and under Trump's leadership, we are committed to changing and restoring it in a way that benefits not only Americans, but Venezuelans as well," he said.

On the subject of Venezuelan energy infrastructure, Wright emphasized that it is "not good." He said, "Decades of underinvestment and corruption have degraded infrastructure, and it's not just oil and gas; it's also the power grid."

Switching gears, Wright called climate change spending probably one of the biggest malinvestments in human history. He said approximately $10 trillion has been invested globally "fighting climate change," and asked what the return has been: "For $10 trillion, we got solar up to 1.2% of global energy and wind at 1.4%. Collectively, that's just 2.6% of global energy."