WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. may subsidize efforts by energy companies to rebuild Venezuela’s oil industry as his administration seeks to convince firms to invest in the country days after ousting strongman Nicolás Maduro.

Trump said the project to have U.S. oil industry companies expand their operations in the country could be “up and running” in less than 18 months, in an interview Monday with NBC News — a time frame starkly at odds with estimates from energy industry experts, while oil companies have been largely silent about their willingness to reinvest in Venezuela.

“I think we can do it in less time than that, but it’ll be a lot of money,” Trump told NBC. “A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent and the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue.”

The comments underscore the administration’s view that Venezuela’s vast oil reserves are central to both its recovery and U.S. strategic interests. Yet Trump has offered few specifics on how production would be restored or who would control revenues in the interim.

Asked if he had spoken to top executives at Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips, Trump said it was “too soon” to reveal whether he had any conversations, adding: “I speak to everybody.”

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to talk this week with oil-industry executives, according to people familiar with the matter. Wright will attend the Goldman Sachs Energy, Clean Tech & Utilities Conference in Miami this week that executives from Chevron, ConocoPhillips and other companies are scheduled to attend.

Years of corruption, underinvestment, fires and thefts have left Venezuela’s crude facilities in tatters. Large oil companies have said little about their desire to resume operations there and energy experts say reviving Venezuela’s oil industry could be a decade-long process and could cost upwards of $100 billion. Chevron is the only oil supermajor still operating in Venezuela.

Trump did not detail how much he thought an effort to rebuild and expand Venezuela’s oil infrastructure could cost, according to NBC News, saying only that “It’ll be a very substantial amount of money will be spent.”

The U.S. president also said he foresaw expanded energy flows from Venezuela helping to “reduce oil prices.”

“Having a Venezuela that’s an oil producer is good for the United States because it keeps the price of oil down,” Trump said.

The president has sought to convince voters ahead of this year’s crucial midterm elections that his administration is working to address pocketbook issues, although concerns about affordability have largely centered around costs for groceries and housing.

Trump’s remarks come as he faces skepticism over his audacious military intervention in Venezuela, which resulted in the capture of Maduro.

The U.S. president has said the raid was necessary to apprehend a man American authorities have accused of running a drug-trafficking operation and to retake oil assets. Opponents said the U.S. may have broken international law, while warning Trump doesn’t have congressional or public approval for the U.S. taking on a nation-building project.

A defiant Maduro was arraigned in New York on Monday and pleaded not guilty to drug and weapons charges, saying he was an “innocent” and “decent man.”

The U.S. president on Monday said Delcy Rodriguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president and was sworn in as acting president following his removal, had been cooperating with his administration, and downplayed the prospect of quick elections in the country.

“We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote,” Trump said, according to NBC, when asked about a vote within the next month.

“No, it’s going to take a period of time. We have — we have to nurse the country back to health,” Trump said.

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(With assistance from Derek Wallbank.)

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