Washington: Trump announced the agreement on Truth Social on Friday, describing it as the “biggest oil deal in world history” and saying the transaction would more than double American oil reserves.
According to Trump, the agreement was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in coordination with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez and private-sector partners.
Trump said the arrangement had secured majority US control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves at no cost to American taxpayers. He also claimed the agreement would help substantially reduce petrol prices for Americans over the long term.
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Rodriguez welcomed the agreement, describing it as an important step towards Venezuela’s economic recovery. The deal is expected to involve the development of 17 strategic oilfields, attract more than $100 billion in private investment and potentially generate over $209 billion in tax revenue for Venezuela.
The announcement follows weeks of negotiations aimed at providing American companies with long-term access to Venezuelan oilfields while securing crude supplies for US refineries.
Venezuelan authorities are also expected to grant new exploration and production rights to private companies, particularly US firms, as part of efforts to increase output.
However, significant questions remain over how the arrangement will operate. Trump did not disclose which companies or individual oilfields are involved or explain how the United States would exercise majority control over the reserves.
The agreement could also face legal and constitutional challenges in Venezuela, where the state has historically retained significant control over the oil industry.
Venezuela possesses the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at around 303 billion barrels, but years of underinvestment, deteriorating infrastructure, mismanagement and sanctions have left production well below its potential.
Rubio described the agreement as a major gain for both countries, saying it would provide the United States with stable, lower-cost oil supplies while helping rebuild Venezuela’s economy.
He said the expected private investment would support thousands of high-paying jobs and significantly expand Venezuela’s oil production.
