Trump hails 'historic' deal for US to control 65bn barrels of Venezuela's oil

Trump hails 'historic' deal for US to control 65bn barrels of Venezuela's oil
Sareen Habeshian

The US has reached a deal with Venezuela to control more than 65 billion barrels of its proven oil reserves, President Donald Trump announced.

"This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans," Trump posted on social media.

Venezuela's interim President, Delcy Rodriguez, hailed the agreement as one that would help her nation's economic revival.

Trump vowed to tap Venezuela's reserves, the world's largest, after the US captured its then-President Nicolás Maduro this year. More recently, Trump has been under pressure to tame domestic petrol prices, which spiked amid the Iran conflict.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the oil deal "a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people". Few details were released.

"For the Venezuelan people, this deal will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment, support thousands of high-paying jobs, and drive the reconstruction of Venezuela's economy," Rubio said on social media.

In his own post, Trump said Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had reached the agreement with Venezuela's leadership "through a partnership with private business".

He did not elaborate on the partnership or describe possible commitments and terms for the US in the deal, but he claimed the agreement was reached "at no cost to the American Taxpayer".

Venezuela's interim president said in a statement that the agreement would have "a significant impact on our nation's revival".

The deal calls for the development of 17 strategic oil fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels, as well as "an investment of more than $100 billion, and more than $209 billion in taxes for the State", Rodriguez said.

"These investments will contribute not only to the recovery and modernization of our industry, but also to our country's economic growth, the energy security of our hemisphere, and greater balance in international markets," she said.

Under the deal the US government will retain 55% control of a joint venture with an "experienced private operator in Venezuela", a US official told the BBC's media partner CBS News.

Rodriguez gave the venture a 100-year concession to operate in the oil fields, according to the official.

Trump gave few specifics of the highly unusual agreement, which apparently grants the US direct governance over a foreign country's sovereign national resources.

The deal would also appear to be wider in scope than the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority's control over Iraq's oil revenues after Saddam Hussein was ousted in an American-led invasion in 2003.

But it is unclear whether the Venezuela agreement could face legal and constitutional challenges in the South American nation. The official text of the agreement between Washington and Caracas has not been released.

President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized in a US special forces operation authorised by Trump on 3 January.

In the hours after the raid, Trump said his administration would run Venezuela until a "safe, proper and judicious transition" could take place, adding that the US would indefinitely control the sale of the country's oil.

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world - an estimated 303 billion barrels. However, production has plummeted since its peak in the late 1990s.

Trump has asked US oil firms to invest at least $100bn (£75bn) to restore the country's oil industry.

He has also claimed the rights to Venezuela's oil after saying that the country had in the past "unilaterally seized and sold American oil, American assets and American platforms, costing us billions and billions of dollars".