Trump Venezuela Oil Deal Targets 65 Billion Barrels

President Donald Trump said the United States has secured majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves through a partnership with private companies, marking a major expansion of Washington’s role in the country’s energy industry months after the U.S. military captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump said the agreement was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez. The announcement came as the Trump administration seeks to increase global oil supplies and bring down U.S. gasoline prices, while Venezuela attempts to rebuild an oil industry damaged by years of underinvestment, sanctions and deteriorating infrastructure.

“At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer,” Trump said.

The figure represents about one-fifth of Venezuela’s estimated 303 billion barrels of proven crude reserves. The agreement does not mean that the United States immediately owns or has access to 65 billion barrels of producible crude. Rather, the arrangement covers the development of 17 oil fields whose reserves are estimated at that level.

A U.S. official familiar with the agreement said a new private company would be created with an unnamed private Venezuelan operator, with the United States receiving a 55% effective share of the venture’s output through an ownership interest and rights to purchase oil at production cost. The official said Rodríguez had granted the company rights to develop the fields for 100 years.

$100 Billion Plan To Rebuild Venezuela’s Oil Industry

The investment component is central to the agreement because Venezuela’s problem is not a lack of oil underground but its limited ability to extract, process and transport it.

Rodríguez’s government said the 17 fields have a proven potential of 65 billion barrels and that the agreement could attract more than $100 billion in investment while generating more than $209 billion in tax revenue for the Venezuelan state. Rodríguez said the deal would help revive the country’s hydrocarbons industry and create a major flow of private capital into energy infrastructure.

Rubio separately described the agreement as a “huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people.”

“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,” Rubio said.

The $100 billion figure is not an entirely new commitment. Trump had already been pressing U.S. and other international oil companies since January to invest at least $100 billion in rebuilding Venezuela’s energy infrastructure following Maduro’s capture. At a White House meeting with oil executives in January, Trump said companies would invest their own money initially and recover their costs from oil revenues.

That earlier proposal envisaged rebuilding wells, pipelines, refineries and other infrastructure damaged by years of inadequate maintenance. Chevron, which remained one of the few major U.S. oil companies with an established operating presence in Venezuela, had indicated that it could increase production from existing operations. European producers including Eni and Repsol had also expressed interest in expanding their Venezuelan activities.

The latest agreement puts that broader reconstruction strategy into a specific framework covering 17 fields. However, the public details do not yet provide a field-by-field breakdown of the $100 billion, including how much would be allocated to drilling, pipelines, gathering systems, processing facilities, ports, refineries and other infrastructure.

That distinction matters because several of the fields under consideration have little functioning infrastructure, while existing facilities have suffered from years of deterioration and equipment losses. Developing Venezuela’s extra-heavy crude also requires specialized technology and suitable refining capacity.

The scale of the proposed investment is therefore better understood as a long-term reconstruction programme rather than an immediate injection of $100 billion into production.

Maduro’s Capture, Oil Reform And Legal Questions

The agreement also needs to be viewed against the political transformation that followed the U.S. military operation that captured Maduro on Jan. 3.

U.S. forces carried out the operation in Caracas and other locations before taking Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, to the United States, where Maduro faces federal charges. Rodríguez, who had been Venezuela’s vice president, was subsequently sworn in as interim president.

Rodríguez initially condemned the U.S. operation and described Maduro’s removal as an illegal kidnapping. Her government nevertheless moved quickly toward cooperation with Washington, particularly on energy policy.

One of Rodríguez’s most consequential moves came on Jan. 29, when Venezuela enacted an overhaul of its hydrocarbons law that opened the industry to significantly greater private and foreign participation. The reform weakened the long-standing dominance of state oil company PDVSA, allowed private operators greater control over production and revenues, permitted asset transfers and outsourcing, and introduced mechanisms intended to provide investors with greater legal protection.

That reform provides the domestic legal foundation for the latest agreement. But it does not eliminate questions over whether a 100-year development arrangement negotiated by an interim government could face challenges from future Venezuelan administrations, courts or political groups.

Opposition figures have already questioned the legitimacy of handing foreign investors such extensive rights over strategic natural resources. Venezuela’s constitution establishes state sovereignty over hydrocarbons, meaning the precise legal structure of the arrangement will be important in determining whether the agreement represents a development contract, an operating concession, a production-sharing arrangement or another form of long-term commercial right.

The issue could become particularly important if Venezuela eventually holds elections and a future government seeks to renegotiate contracts signed under Rodríguez’s interim administration.

There is also a wider question over the political status of the government that signed the agreement. Rodríguez assumed power after Maduro was removed by U.S. military force, rather than through a new presidential election. That creates a potential source of uncertainty for investors seeking contracts that are intended to remain valid for decades.

For Washington, however, the deal offers a way to combine energy policy with its broader post-Maduro strategy. For Caracas, it offers access to capital and technology that Venezuela has struggled to attract on its own.

Can Venezuela Deliver The Oil?

The immediate economic impact will depend less on the size of the reserves than on how quickly production can be restored.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, but its output remains a fraction of the levels the country achieved before years of economic and political disruption. Much of its crude is extra-heavy, particularly in the Orinoco Belt, making production and refining more technically demanding than conventional crude.

The United States is also looking for additional supplies at a time when domestic gasoline prices remain elevated. U.S. regular gasoline averaged $4.085 a gallon for the week ended Aug. 24, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Trump has argued that increased Venezuelan production will help lower U.S. fuel prices. Rubio has also linked the agreement to lower gasoline costs. But new Venezuelan production cannot reach American refineries immediately. Wells need to be rehabilitated or drilled, pipelines and transport infrastructure restored, and production and processing systems brought back into reliable operation.

The investment requirements could therefore run for years before the full effect of the agreement becomes visible in oil markets.

For Venezuela, the potential upside is substantial. More production would mean higher export earnings, greater government revenues, employment and investment in infrastructure. Rodríguez’s government estimates more than $209 billion in future tax receipts from the development.

For the United States, the arrangement could secure long-term access to heavy crude that is compatible with parts of the country’s refining system and provide an additional source of supply outside more politically exposed regions.

The next test will be whether the announced investment becomes binding capital commitments and whether the 17 fields can move from a reserve estimate to sustained commercial production.

The agreement therefore represents a major change in Venezuela‘s oil model, but its ultimate value will be determined by three factors: the legal durability of the contracts, the willingness of private companies to commit the promised capital, and the speed at which Venezuela’s damaged oil infrastructure can be rebuilt.