The United States has taken the oil that was on seized Venezuelan tankers and will process it in U.S. refineries, President Donald Trump said in a New York Post interview that was published on Saturday.

Venezuela’s legislature opened debate Thursday on a bill to loosen state control over the country's vast oil sector in the first major overhaul since the late socialist leader Hugo Chávez nationalized parts of the industry in 2007.

For more than a decade, most major Western oil companies have had little access to Venezuela’s reserves, the world’s largest, owing to a wave of nationalizations of their operations in the country in the mid-2000s and subsequent US sanctions.

Venezuelan lawmakers on Thursday backed a plan that would make it easier for foreign companies to participate in the country’s oil industry, in the latest move by Caracas to meet the demands of US President Donald Trump.

Oil analysts say the reform would help foreign companies already in Venezuela, but falls short of President Trump’s plans to attract big investments.

Venezuelan lawmakers on Thursday gave their initial backing to plans to throw open the oil sector to private investors, paving the way for the return of US energy majors --

One climate scientist found that 29% of methane produced by Venezuela’s oil and gas industry escapes into the atmosphere. Fixing it would cost billions.