Trump announces US majority control of Venezuela’s oil reserves
Trump Announces Major Oil Agreement with Venezuela
President Donald Trump has announced a significant agreement that would grant the United States majority control over Venezuela’s proven oil reserves, which he characterized as the “biggest oil deal in world history.”
The deal, which encompasses approximately 65 billion barrels of proven petroleum reserves, is expected to attract nearly $100 billion in private investment to Venezuela, according to Trump.
The announcement was made on Friday via a post on his Truth Social platform, where the President claimed that the arrangement would more than double the country’s oil reserves.
“This transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States,” Trump stated.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth participated in negotiating the agreement with Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, in collaboration with private-sector companies.
Rodriguez confirmed the agreement, calling it a “historic agreement” poised to significantly contribute to the rebuilding of Venezuela’s economy. She noted that the deal could attract over $100 billion in investment and generate more than $209 billion in tax revenue for the Venezuelan government.
Rubio defended the agreement, claiming it exemplifies the Trump administration’s foreign policy under the “America First” banner. “For the Venezuelan people, this deal will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment, support thousands of high-paying jobs, and drive the reconstruction of Venezuela’s economy,” he remarked.
However, uncertainties persist regarding how the United States would secure control of Venezuela’s oil assets. Jorge Pinon, a senior researcher at the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, described the arrangement as unusual, noting that control of the assets would transition to another country rather than merely being transferred to a private entity. “We don’t know how the transfer would take place,” he said. “Is it a sale? Is it a title transfer? Is it only transferred once the reserves are actually produced?”
Venezuela is home to the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at roughly 300 billion barrels. The reported agreement arrives amid Trump administration efforts to attract U.S. investment into Venezuela’s oil industry and expand American influence in the sector following the ousting and capture of Nicolás Maduro in January.
U.S. oil companies have historically been hesitant to invest significantly in Venezuela, citing concerns about deteriorating infrastructure and the security of foreign investments. Chevron, which was the only U.S. oil company still operating in Venezuela at the time Maduro was ousted, reported in July that its crude production had increased to 280,000 barrels per day, with plans to raise production by another 50 percent by the end of 2028.
