• US president claims control of 65bn barrels of proven reserves; nearly $100bn in private investment pledged
• Deal covers development of 17 strategic petroleum fields; Washington hopes added crude supply will ease soaring fuel prices
• Experts warn political uncertainty could deter investment

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that his administration has reached a huge oil deal with Venezuela, securing United States majority control over 65 billion barrels of the South American nation’s proven petroleum reserves.

The unprecedented deal — which Trump proclaimed as “the biggest oil deal in world history” — will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment to Venezuela’s battered energy industry, US and Venezuelan officials said.

The agreement represents a dramatic expansion of the US role in Venezuela’s oil sector as the administration seeks to revive the OPEC nation’s production, securing more crude for US refineries to help bring down fuel prices.

This comes months after the US ousted and captured long-time Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro in January. Washington allowed his vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to stay on and serve as interim leader so long as she toes the US line.

Trump provided few details about the agreement’s structure, the specific fields, or the companies involved.

“At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with the highly respected interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and through a partnership with private business, have secured majority US control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven oil reserves in Venezuela at no cost to the American taxpayer,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“This transaction will greatly strengthen the already growing relationship between Venezuela and the United States!”

Rodríguez confirmed the arrangement late on Friday, calling it a “historic agreement” that would “have a significant impact on the rebirth of our nation”.

Writing on social media, she said developing 17 strategic fields would bring an investment of “more than $100bn and more than $209bn in tax revenue for the state”.

“These investments will contribute not only to the recovery and modernisation of our industry but also to our country’s economic growth, the energy security of our hemisphere, and greater balance in international markets,” Rodríguez said in a statement.

High gasoline prices are a major political issue for Trump, whose approval ratings have fallen ahead of November’s midterm elections after launching a war on Iran that disrupted global oil supplies. The US strategic petroleum reserve is also at a 40-year low.

Rubio wrote on X that the agreement demonstrated how “President Trump’s bold foreign policy is driving America First wins: securing stable reserves and low-cost oil in our hemisphere and lowering gas prices here at home.”

Despite the announcements, many questions remain. Jorge Piñon, a senior researcher at the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute, said the agreement was unconventional and questioned how oil assets would be transferred to another country.

“We don’t know how the transfer would take place,” Piñon said. “Is it a sale? Is it a title transfer? Is it only transferred once the reserves are actually produced?”

A lease model with fields auctioned to US producers is reportedly under consideration. However, the arrangement could face constitutional challenges in Venezuela, where the state retains control over core oil activities.

David Goldwyn, president of Goldwyn Global Strategies, noted there is “no precedent for having the US government enter into a lease to operate oil fields”.

“It is hard to see how this kind of arrangement would accelerate investment at any material scale,” Goldwyn said, citing political uncertainty and an inadequate power grid.

John Kilduff, an energy expert at Again Capital, said the biggest problem for companies operating in Venezuela is “the safety and security of your investment”.

He said if the US is now going to control the fields, the goal would be “to establish a sort of state zone where US companies can go in, operate, and not be impacted and hopefully eliminate the political risk that otherwise goes with investing in Venezuela.”

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2026