GOP Rep. Pfluger: 'A Lot of Questions' Still Remain on Venezuelan Oil Deal

On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” Rep. August Pfluger (R-TX) said that he has questions about the security logistics with the Venezuelan oil deal, he doesn’t want to see domestic energy producers undercut by the deal, “and I think we can get there, but there are still a lot of questions out there, and I will be leading the charge on asking those questions.”

Pfluger said, “I do have questions about the deal with Venezuela, because I want to know, not only how long is it going to take, but how stable and how easily these companies are going to be able to operate over there from a security standpoint. When it comes to energy in general, I’m not an all of the above person, I am a best of the above person. So, any subsidies should be looked at from a realistic point of view, green energy fits into that category. If it works, then let’s use it. If it doesn’t, and it can’t compete in the marketplace, then I’m not for it.”

Guest host Cheryl Casone then said, “But the companies that operate in the Permian Basin, to your point sir, they’re saying — and maybe they’re saying this offline to you right now in conversations, is that they want to make sure there [are] protections for them, because these companies lost hundreds of billions of dollars in Venezuela in the past and were never repaid. It’s a fair question.”

Pfluger responded, “They did. And I have advocated from the very beginning that they should be reimbursed for those losses. When Maduro took over, the country was thriving, Venezuela was a thriving country, they had a booming economy, he took it over, and drove them into the ground. And, oh, by the way, these companies lost billions of dollars. So, yes, they do need to be repaid. I don’t want to see, however, domestic companies, especially those that operate in my district, being undercut by this. So, I think there’s a way to get there, I know Chris Wright is very qualified to be the Secretary of Energy. He understands worldwide flows of energy, and I think we can get there, but there are still a lot of questions out there, and I will be leading the charge on asking those questions.”

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