(Oil Price) – Venezuela has signed agreements with two U.S. energy firms to operate in the country as a growing number of international oil and gas companies are vying to return to the world’s biggest crude resource holder.The Venezuelan government of interim President Delcy Rodríguez has just signed agreements with U.S. firms Hunt Overseas Oil Company and Crossover Energy, which plan to operate in the Orinoco Belt, the South American country’s prime oil province of heavy and extra heavy crude. The deals were signed in the presence of Jarrod Agen, President Trump’s energy adviser and executive director of the National Energy Dominance Council, who arrived in Venezuela on the first direct Miami-Caracas flight in nearly a decade.Many international companies have explored the opportunity to return or establish operations in Venezuela following the capture of Nicolas Maduro, the U.S. taking control of Venezuelan oil sales, and the eased sanctions on operations with the Venezuelan state oil firm PDVSA.Before the January blitz in which U.S. forces captured Maduro and flew him to face drug-trafficking charges in the United States, only Chevron was authorized to operate in the country and export Venezuelan oil to the U.S.Now European majors such as Eni, Repsol, and BP are returning to Venezuela with preliminary deals to boost oil and gas production or explore for resources, while large U.S. firms, including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, have reportedly sent teams on the ground to evaluate opportunities.In recent weeks, representatives of Exxon and ConocoPhillips have met with Venezuelan officials and the companies have sent technical teams to the country to evaluate opportunities, the Wall Street Journal reports.Earlier this week, Italy’s Eni and Spain’s Repsol, two of the largest European energy companies, said they plan to increase natural gas production from their jointly owned Cardon IV gas field in Venezuela.Also this week, UK-based BP signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuela, establishing “potential areas for co-operation in material gas and future exploration,” with the supermajor potentially exploring for offshore gas resources.By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com