Washington: US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States has entered into an agreement with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of the South American nation’s oil reserves, describing it as the “biggest oil deal in world history.”
Trump said the agreement was negotiated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez. However, the Venezuelan government had not immediately responded to requests for comment, while the White House did not provide details about the private-sector partners involved or how the arrangement would operate.
The announcement comes amid mounting pressure on the Trump administration to bring down soaring fuel prices in the United States. The average US gasoline price stood at around $4.09 per gallon on August 28, compared with $3.21 a year earlier.
The development also comes against the backdrop of the ongoing US-Israel war against Iran, which has severely disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Before the conflict, around 20% of global petroleum shipments passed through the strategic waterway. The United States has also drawn heavily on its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which fell below 300 million barrels in early August.
The Venezuela agreement follows Washington’s military operation nearly nine months ago that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was taken to the United States to face federal narcoterrorism and drug-trafficking charges.
Following Maduro’s ouster, Trump urged major US oil companies to return to Venezuela and invest in its energy sector. However, companies have remained cautious because of Venezuela’s severely deteriorated oil infrastructure and past nationalisation policies. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods had previously described Venezuela as “un-investable.”
Rodriguez has since moved to open Venezuela’s oil industry to greater private participation, reversing a major policy associated with the country’s socialist system.
Rubio claimed the new agreement could bring $100 billion in private investment to Venezuela and eventually contribute to lower gasoline prices in the United States, calling it a major victory for both countries.
Venezuela possesses an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, roughly 17% of the global total, according to the US Energy Information Administration. Despite possessing the world’s largest proven oil reserves, the country currently produces only about 1% of global oil output, largely because years of neglect have left its production infrastructure severely damaged.
