Washington, Aug 29: US President Donald Trump has announced that his administration has signed a massive oil deal that will give the US majority control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s petroleum reserves.
Trump described the deal as the largest oil deal in world history and said it would bring in about $100 billion in private investment in Venezuela, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. The Venezuelan government has been under intense pressure and close monitoring by the Trump administration since the US ousted and imprisoned long-time ruler Nicolas Maduro in January.
The US had allowed Maduro’s then-Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to continue as interim leader as long as he followed US instructions.
Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to bring Venezuelan oil under American control. In a post on his Twitter account announcing the deal, he said the deal would more than double America’s oil reserves.
There was no immediate official confirmation from the Venezuelan government about the deal.
Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reached the deal with Rodriguez through a private sector partnership.
Trump wrote that the deal would further strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States.
In exchange for a share of American ownership, private entities, including American companies, would develop the oil fields, repatriating most of the oil revenue to Venezuela, Axios reported.
Trump has repeatedly said that gasoline prices will fall for Americans, a key issue as his popularity plummets ahead of the midterm elections in November. The war with Iran has disrupted global oil supplies, affecting energy prices.
The Donald Trump administration has been urging US companies to invest in Venezuela, but companies remain wary, given the country’s deteriorating infrastructure and a history of foreign asset seizures by the Venezuelan government.
Chevron, the only US oil company operating in Venezuela when Maduro was ousted, said in July it had increased its daily crude oil production to 280,000 barrels per day. The company said it plans to increase production by 50% by the end of 2028.