Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that the Trump administration is confident Western oil companies would be willing to return to Venezuela, though he declined to say whether U.S. troops might be deployed to secure the country’s oil infrastructure.

Speaking on ABC News’ This Week with anchor George Stephanopoulos, Rubio emphasized that the administration’s focus is not on controlling oil fields but on enforcing sanctions tied to governance reforms.

“This is not about securing the oil fields,” Rubio said. “This is about ensuring that no sanctioned oil can come in and out until they make changes to the governance of that entire industry.”

Rubio acknowledged that he has not recently spoken directly with U.S. oil executives but said the White House expects strong interest from Western energy firms if conditions allow.

“I think there would be tremendous demand and interest from private industry if given the space to do it, if given the opportunity to do it,” Rubio said, referring to a potential return of foreign companies to Venezuela.

At present, Chevron is the only U.S. oil company operating in Venezuela, doing so under a special license issued by the U.S. government.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves and continues to export hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude per day, making the future of its energy sector a central issue in discussions surrounding sanctions, governance, and international investment.