CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez said the country’s new energy agreement with the United States will last 25 years, develop 17 strategic oil fields and initially target more than 1.5 million barrels of crude production per day.
The comments provide the clearest public account yet from Caracas of an agreement President Donald Trump described Friday as giving the United States majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves.
Rodríguez said the deal would preserve Venezuela’s ownership and sovereignty over its natural resources while bringing U.S. capital, technology and operational capacity into an oil sector badly damaged by years of sanctions, underinvestment and declining production.
“This 25-year bilateral project envisages the development of 17 strategic oil fields, with a production target of more than 1.5 million barrels per day,” Rodríguez said in a late-night televised address on state broadcaster VTV.
She said the 1.5 million-barrel-per-day target applies only to the bilateral project with the United States and represents an initial goal. Venezuela also intends to develop eight additional greenfield oil blocks as part of a wider expansion of its energy sector, she said.
The agreement marks a major change in U.S.-Venezuela relations and could reshape the future of the world’s largest holder of proven oil reserves.
But major details remain unclear, including the identity of the private operator expected to participate, the financing structure, the precise legal status of the project and how Washington’s claimed economic control would function in practice.
A 25-year plan for 17 oil fields
Rodríguez described the agreement as a long-term bilateral project designed to revive Venezuela’s oil industry.
The deal covers 17 strategic oil fields with a stated production goal of more than 1.5 million barrels per day.
That production target is substantial.
Venezuela currently produces far less than 1.5 million barrels a day, after years of decline at state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA. Before the country’s economic and political crisis deepened, Venezuela was capable of producing several million barrels per day.
The effort to raise output would require major investment in drilling, pipelines, power systems, storage facilities, export terminals, refineries, equipment and skilled workers.
It would also require the rehabilitation of existing fields and the development of new ones.
Rodríguez said the broader plan includes eight greenfield blocks, or undeveloped oil areas, beyond the initial 17 fields covered by the bilateral arrangement.
The 25-year duration would give the partners a long runway to finance and develop projects that may take years to produce meaningful volumes of crude.
Energy projects commonly operate over decades because companies need time to recover large upfront investments. But the Venezuela agreement arrives in a politically sensitive setting, where previous foreign oil investments have been affected by nationalization, sanctions, contract disputes and changes in government policy.
For Venezuela, the long term is intended to signal stability.
For investors, it raises questions about whether legal protections will be strong enough to survive economic and political change.
Venezuela says it retains sovereignty
The most politically important part of Rodríguez’s message was her insistence that Venezuela will retain ownership of its natural resources.
“There is something that must be absolutely clear,” Rodríguez said. “Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its resources, while utilizing capital, technology and operational capacity to leverage the recovery of a strategic industry that has been severely hit by sanctions.”
Her comments appear designed to counter the description from Trump and U.S. officials that the United States will gain “majority control” over Venezuelan oil.
Trump said Friday that the United States had secured majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves through a partnership with private business.
U.S. officials said a newly formed company involving the U.S. government and an unnamed private operator would receive rights to untapped Venezuelan oil fields for 100 years. The United States would receive 55% of the venture’s effective output, including an ownership stake and the right to purchase oil at cost.
Those descriptions do not necessarily contradict each other, but they emphasize different elements of the arrangement.
Caracas is presenting the deal as a partnership in which the Venezuelan state retains sovereignty over oil in the ground. Washington is presenting it as an agreement that gives the United States a controlling economic interest in a major project.
The distinction is fundamental.
Under Venezuelan law and political tradition, oil is a national resource. The country nationalized its oil industry in 1976, and petroleum has long been central to Venezuela’s national identity and economic policy.
A project involving foreign investment and long-term development rights may be acceptable to Venezuelan authorities. A claim that another country owns or controls Venezuela’s oil could be politically explosive.
Rodríguez’s statement seeks to draw a clear line: foreign capital and technology may participate, but Venezuela says it will not surrender sovereign ownership of its reserves.
Capital, technology and Venezuelan oil
Rodríguez described the agreement as a division of responsibilities.
“Each party contributes what it does best,” she said. “Venezuela contributes oil, its industry and the experience of its workers accumulated over more than 100 years. The United States contributes the capital and technology needed to recover and develop those assets.”
The formula reflects the condition of Venezuela’s oil sector.
The country has enormous reserves but lacks much of the investment and equipment required to increase output substantially. Its fields and infrastructure have deteriorated after years of economic crisis, management failures, corruption, international sanctions and the loss of technical personnel.
Many Venezuelan reserves are also heavy crude, which is more difficult and expensive to extract, transport and refine than lighter grades of oil.
The country needs diluents, advanced drilling equipment, reliable electricity, maintenance systems and access to international financing. It also needs confidence from companies that contracts will be honored and that revenue can be repatriated.
The United States and U.S.-linked companies can potentially provide capital, technology, services and a market for Venezuelan heavy crude.
That crude is particularly useful for certain U.S. Gulf Coast refineries designed to process heavier grades of oil.
The project could also direct some purchases toward the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and military supply, according to a U.S. official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
But the administration has not explained how much oil could reach U.S. markets, when deliveries might begin or whether the proposed production target is technically and financially realistic.
The money: $19 per barrel for Venezuela
Rodríguez also offered a new revenue detail.
She said Venezuela would receive $19 from every barrel produced and sold to the United States under the agreement.
The benchmark price cited by Rodríguez was $65 per barrel, though she said it could fluctuate depending on global oil prices.
The Venezuelan government has said the agreement could generate more than $209 billion in revenue for Caracas.
That estimate requires careful scrutiny.
At a target of 1.5 million barrels per day, annual production would be about 547.5 million barrels. If Venezuela received $19 for every barrel, the annual amount would be roughly $10.4 billion, assuming production reached and maintained the target.
That is meaningful revenue for Venezuela, but it is far below $209 billion in a single year.
The larger number appears to be a multiyear projection, a potential total tied to broader development, or a figure calculated under assumptions that have not been fully disclosed.
Neither Caracas nor Washington has released the agreement text, financial model or detailed production schedule.
That makes it impossible to independently verify the revenue estimates.
It also remains unclear how money would be split among the Venezuelan government, PDVSA, the new venture, the U.S. government, private investors and service providers.
The 65 billion-barrel figure
The agreement centers on oil fields with a reported proven potential of about 65 billion barrels.
That amount represents roughly 21% of Venezuela’s estimated 303 billion barrels of proven reserves.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, ahead of Saudi Arabia, Canada and Iran.
But proven reserves do not automatically translate into economically recoverable oil.
The oil must be technically extractable at a cost that makes sense for investors. It must then be transported, refined and sold in a market where prices can change rapidly.
Venezuela’s heavy crude presents special challenges. Much of it is in the Orinoco Belt, a vast oil-rich region where production can require specialized techniques and large investments.
Oil companies will also need to assess the condition of individual fields, the availability of water and power, pipeline capacity, export terminals, environmental requirements and local labor.
The 65 billion-barrel number demonstrates the scale of the opportunity. It does not show how much oil can be produced quickly.
President Trump’s statement that the deal would give the United States control over a major share of Venezuelan reserves should also be understood as a political characterization.
The United States would apparently hold rights to output from a new venture. Venezuela says it will retain sovereignty over the resources themselves.
The final legal documents will determine how those positions are reconciled.
The missing private operator
One of the most significant unanswered questions is who will operate the project.
U.S. officials have said an unnamed private operator in Venezuela will join the U.S. government in the new venture.
Neither the White House nor the Venezuelan government has identified the company.
Potential participants could include major U.S. oil companies, international energy firms, service providers, trading houses or a consortium of companies. But no operator has been confirmed.
The identity matters because the project will require technical expertise, balance-sheet strength, international experience and willingness to operate in a high-risk political environment.
Any company involved will need clarity on sanctions. U.S. restrictions on Venezuela have complicated investment and trade for years.
Washington will need to define whether the project receives a special license, broad sanctions relief or some other legal authorization.
The private operator will also need assurances about ownership, taxes, dispute resolution, security, labor, environmental rules and the role of PDVSA.
Without those details, the agreement remains more a political framework than a fully operational oil project.
What the deal means for the U.S.
The Trump administration says the deal could strengthen U.S. energy security and eventually help lower gasoline prices.
The project could provide American refiners with access to Venezuelan heavy crude, a resource that fits the technical design of several Gulf Coast facilities.
It could also reduce Venezuela’s reliance on Chinese, Russian, Iranian and other foreign partners, giving Washington greater leverage in the region.
But the effects on U.S. gasoline prices are uncertain.
Oil is traded globally, and gasoline prices depend on more than crude supply. Refining capacity, transportation, taxes, seasonal demand, regional supply disruptions and global conflicts all influence what consumers pay at the pump.
Even if the agreement succeeds, new production will likely take years to build.
The 1.5 million-barrel-per-day target is an initial goal, not a current supply figure.
The deal could have a larger strategic than immediate consumer impact.
It may open a new channel for U.S. influence in Venezuela and create opportunities for American companies. But it also ties U.S. policy more closely to the future of a government long criticized in Washington for its human rights record and democratic backsliding.
A test of Venezuela’s economic recovery
For Rodríguez, the agreement is a chance to revive an industry that once funded much of Venezuela’s public spending.
She called the deal historic and said it would help reshape the country’s economic future.
If investment arrives and production rises, Venezuela could gain jobs, foreign currency, tax revenue and improved infrastructure.
The country’s workers could benefit from a larger, more active oil sector. Related industries — transportation, construction, engineering, equipment services and local manufacturing — could also see gains.
But success is far from guaranteed.
Venezuela has struggled to restore production even when oil prices were high. Sanctions, unreliable infrastructure, political risk and distrust among foreign investors remain serious barriers.
The agreement will also face scrutiny from environmental groups, which may object to major new fossil-fuel development as countries seek to reduce emissions and expand cleaner energy.
For Venezuela, the immediate priority is economic recovery. For the United States, the calculation combines energy, commercial interests and geopolitics.
What happens next
The next phase will require documentation, financing and implementation.
Washington and Caracas have yet to release the agreement text. The private operator has not been named. The exact terms of the U.S. government’s 55% effective output have not been fully explained.
Investors will want to know how the 25-year bilateral agreement relates to the reported 100-year concession rights granted to the venture.
That discrepancy may reflect two different legal arrangements: a 25-year government-to-government framework and a longer development concession for the operating company. But neither government has publicly clarified the relationship.
The agreement’s credibility will depend on what happens next.
Can the partners identify an operator? Can they secure funding? Can they navigate sanctions? Can they restore infrastructure? Can they protect contracts and raise production?
Rodríguez has defined the project as a 25-year agreement built on Venezuelan resources and U.S. capital and technology.
Trump has defined it as a major U.S. economic foothold in Venezuela’s oil industry.
Both descriptions could be true.
But until the full terms are released, the most important questions about one of the year’s largest energy agreements remain unanswered.