WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said the United States has reached an agreement with Venezuela to secure majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of the South Americancountry’s proven oil reserves, an unprecedented arrangement that the administration says could revive Venezuela’s damaged energy industry and eventually lower U.S. gasoline prices.
Trump announced the agreement Friday in a Truth Social post, calling it “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY.” He said the arrangement was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez and would be carried out through a partnership with private business.
“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 wrote.
The White House did not immediately release the agreement itself, identify the private company involved or explain how U.S. control would be structured.
U.S. officials familiar with the arrangement said the United States would hold a 55% effective share of a new private joint venture through a combination of equity ownership and rights to buy oil at cost. The venture would receive 100-year rights to develop a group of Venezuelan oil fields.
Venezuela’s government confirmed that it had reached an agreement with Washington to develop 17 strategic oil fields with proven potential of 65 billion barrels. Rodríguez said the project could attract more than $100 billion in investment and generate more than $209 billion in tax revenue for Venezuela.
If implemented as described, the agreement would give the United States a major stake in approximately one-fifth of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves and would represent one of the most significant changes in U.S.-Venezuela energy relations in decades.
What Trump announced
Trump’s announcement offered broad claims but few details.
The president said the deal would provide the United States with majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves. He said it would be accomplished through a private-sector partnership and would not cost U.S. taxpayers money.
The 65 billion barrels would be a substantial figure.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at roughly 300 billion barrels. Yet its production has fallen sharply over the past two decades because of mismanagement, corruption, underinvestment, sanctions, infrastructure decay and the departure of experienced industry workers.
The United States is the world’s largest oil producer, but it has fewer proved reserves than Venezuela. Trump said the agreement would more than double U.S. reserves, though the legal and economic meaning of that claim depends on the final ownership arrangement and whether the oil can be commercially developed.
A U.S. official told CBS News that the new venture would be a joint project between the U.S. government and an “experienced private operator in Venezuela.” The official said the U.S. government would control 55% of the project’s effective output, through both equity in the venture and the ability to purchase oil at cost.
The official did not identify the operator.
The administration also did not disclose which of Venezuela’s fields would be included, what legal protections U.S. entities would receive, how revenue would be divided or whether existing sanctions would be lifted, adjusted or retained.
Those unanswered questions will determine whether the deal becomes a commercially viable project or remains a broad political framework.
Venezuela confirms 17-field development plan
Rodríguez’s government released a statement confirming that the arrangement involved 17 strategic oil fields with an estimated 65 billion barrels of potential.
The Venezuelan government described the deal as a mechanism to increase oil production through private operators.
It said the agreement could bring more than $100 billion in investment into Venezuela’s oil industry and generate more than $209 billion in tax revenue for the state.
Those figures are ambitious.
Developing 17 large oil fields would require massive investment in drilling, pipelines, storage, export terminals, refineries, power systems, worker housing and security. Venezuela’s oil sector has suffered from years of neglect, and many fields contain extra-heavy crude that is more expensive and technically difficult to produce than lighter oil.
The country’s state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, has seen production collapse from more than 3 million barrels per day in the late 1990s to a fraction of that level in recent years.
Venezuela’s oil reserves are vast, but reserves are not the same as production.
A barrel in the ground has economic value only if a company can extract, transport and sell it at a profit. That requires stable rules, large capital investments, functioning infrastructure and confidence that contracts will be honored.
The new agreement appears designed to address some of those barriers by giving a U.S.-linked venture long-term development rights and a defined share of output.
Whether it can overcome Venezuela’s deeper political and operational risks remains uncertain.
A 100-year concession
The most consequential detail reported so far is the length of the development rights.
A U.S. official said Rodríguez granted the planned joint venture a 100-year concession to operate oil fields representing the 65 billion barrels of reserves.
A concession of that duration would be extraordinary.
Oil projects often require decades to develop and recover investment costs, especially in difficult fields. But a 100-year term would give the venture a long planning horizon and potentially protect it from short-term political shifts.
It could also be controversial in Venezuela, where oil has long been closely tied to national sovereignty.
The country nationalized its oil industry in 1976. Since then, control of petroleum resources has been central to Venezuelan politics and national identity.
Any arrangement that gives the United States majority control over a major share of the country’s reserves is likely to generate domestic debate.
The deal may provide Venezuela with capital, technical expertise and a path to higher production. But critics could question whether the country is giving up too much control in exchange for investment and political support.
Rodríguez’s government has framed the agreement as a partnership that will strengthen Venezuela’s economy and generate tax revenue.
The exact terms will be crucial. A venture that shares profits, protects Venezuelan state interests and restores production could be seen differently from one that gives foreign interests broad control over national resources.
Why the United States wants Venezuelan crude
The Trump administration says the deal could help lower U.S. fuel prices.
Rubio said the agreement would boost investment in Venezuela and provide a new crude supply that could reduce gasoline costs for Americans.
But the effect on U.S. prices may not be immediate.
Oil is traded in a global market. Gasoline prices are shaped by crude prices, refining capacity, transportation, taxes, seasonal demand and geopolitical events.
Even if Venezuela increases production, it could take years before large amounts of additional oil reach the market. The fields must be developed, infrastructure repaired and export routes secured.
Venezuelan crude is also generally heavy and sulfur-rich. It is best processed by specialized refineries, including some facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast that were built to handle similar grades of crude.
That creates a practical economic link between Venezuela and the United States.
Before U.S. sanctions tightened, Venezuela was a major supplier of heavy oil to American refineries. Reduced Venezuelan production forced refiners to seek alternative supplies from Canada, Mexico and other countries.
A revival of Venezuelan output could provide another source of heavy crude for those refineries.
Still, the administration’s promise that the deal will lower gasoline prices should be treated as a policy goal, not a guaranteed outcome.
The scale, timing and cost of new production remain unknown.
A major shift in relations
The agreement follows weeks of negotiations between Washington and Caracas, Reuters reported. The talks focused on granting American companies long-term access to Venezuelan oil fields and directing crude supply to the United States.
The deal marks a significant shift in U.S.-Venezuela relations.
For years, Washington has used sanctions to pressure Venezuela over corruption, democratic backsliding, human rights abuses and political repression. U.S. policy has alternated between tight restrictions and limited licenses allowing selected companies to operate in the country.
Trump’s announcement suggests that energy access and commercial investment are now at the center of the relationship.
The involvement of Rubio and Hegseth reflects the deal’s strategic dimension. Venezuela is not simply an oil producer; it is a country with close ties to China, Russia, Cuba and Iran.
A large U.S. oil venture could give Washington greater influence in Caracas while reducing Venezuela’s reliance on other international partners.
The administration has not said whether the deal includes political conditions, security guarantees, sanctions relief or changes in Venezuela’s relationship with foreign governments.
Those questions are likely to draw scrutiny in Congress and among foreign-policy analysts.
The role of private companies
Trump repeatedly described the arrangement as a partnership with private business, but the company or companies involved have not been named.
That omission is significant.
Major international oil companies have experience operating in Venezuela, including Chevron, Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, Eni, Repsol and others. But the political, legal and financial risks are substantial.
Companies considering major investments would need clarity on:
- Ownership rights and production-sharing terms.
- The legal status of the 100-year concession.
- U.S. sanctions and licensing requirements.
- The role of PDVSA and Venezuela’s government.
- Payment, tax and export rules.
- Protection against expropriation or contract cancellation.
- Security risks for workers and infrastructure.
- Access to international financing and insurance.
The project could require tens of billions of dollars before it produces significant new volumes of oil.
Venezuela’s government said the broader investment target exceeds $100 billion.
That amount would likely require participation from multiple companies, lenders, equipment providers and governments.
The ability to attract that capital will depend on the credibility of the agreement and the stability of Venezuela’s political environment.
Economic opportunity and risk
Supporters of the deal may see a chance to revive an oil industry that has been starved of investment and to bring more energy supply to global markets.
For Venezuela, higher production could mean jobs, tax revenue, foreign currency and infrastructure improvements.
For the United States, the agreement could provide a long-term source of heavy crude, create opportunities for American companies and strengthen U.S. influence in the Caribbean and Latin America.
But the risks are equally significant.
Venezuela’s oil industry has a history of contract disputes, nationalization, declining production and political interference. Foreign companies have lost assets there before.
The country’s economic crisis has also damaged infrastructure and public services. Power outages, deteriorating roads, equipment shortages and the loss of skilled workers could make a rapid production increase difficult.
There is also the question of global demand.
The world is moving toward cleaner energy sources, even as oil remains essential to transportation and industry. A 100-year oil concession assumes that demand for petroleum will remain strong for decades.
That may prove correct in some markets, but it is a long-term bet in a rapidly changing energy landscape.
Environmental groups are likely to criticize the deal as an expansion of fossil-fuel development at a time when governments are trying to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
What remains unclear
The announcement has raised more questions than it has answered.
The White House has not released a signed agreement. It has not identified the private operator, named the 17 fields or detailed the financing plan.
It is unclear whether Congress will be asked to approve any part of the arrangement, whether U.S. taxpayers could face indirect financial exposure or how the United States will enforce its claimed control.
It is also unclear whether the 55% figure refers to ownership of the venture, entitlement to oil output, voting rights or some combination of those elements.
Officials have said it includes both equity and the right to buy oil at cost.
That structure could give the U.S. government substantial economic influence without directly owning all the underlying reserves. But the legal distinction matters.
Venezuela would retain sovereignty over its oil resources under its laws. A private venture would receive development rights, not ownership of the country itself or its territory.
Trump’s description of “majority U.S. control” is therefore a political shorthand for what appears to be a more complicated commercial and government-backed arrangement.
What happens next
The next steps will determine whether the deal can move from announcement to operation.
The United States and Venezuela will need to release legal documents, identify the private operator and clarify the role of PDVSA.
Companies will need to assess the fields, estimate costs, secure equipment and determine how to restore or build infrastructure.
Washington will need to explain how sanctions policy applies and whether the project has exemptions or special licenses.
Caracas will need to convince investors that the agreement will survive political change and that contracts will be protected.
The promise is immense: 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, 17 strategic oil fields, more than $100 billion in potential investment and a 100-year development horizon.
The obstacles are also immense: deteriorated infrastructure, political uncertainty, legal risk, sanctions, financing challenges and the technical difficulty of producing Venezuela’s heavy crude.
Trump has called it the biggest oil deal in world history.
Whether it becomes one of the most consequential energy agreements of the decade will depend on details that neither Washington nor Caracas has yet made public.