Trump says he secured 'majority US control' of large slice of Venezuela's oil reserves

President Trump said Friday evening that there will be "majority U.S. control" of a large swath of Venezuela's oil reserves.

"BREAKING NEWS: The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

"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," he added.

The 65-billion-barrel figure represents about 21 percent of Venezuela's total proven reserves, which amount to 303 billion barrels.

A U.S. official told The Hill via email that Rodriguez granted a private company that is a joint venture between the U.S. government and a private operator in Venezuela 100-year "concessions" for oil fields containing 63 billion barrels of proven reserves. The private operator was not named.

The U.S. official also said that the U.S. government will have more than half of the value of the new oil company. This value will be divided between equity ownership and guaranteed oil offtake.

The U.S. would get 55 percent "effective output" of the joint venture, according to the official. And, they said, the new company would have the second-largest proven oil reserve in the world, following only Saudi Aramco.

After the U.S. entered Venezuela and took its then-leader Nicolas Maduro, Trump has repeatedly emphasized his desire for their oil.

Meanwhile, the U.S.'s desire for oil has only grown since then, as the war in Iran has thrown a wrench into global supplies with volatility in the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping chokepoint.

The war has driven up domestic fuel prices, and gasoline currently sits at about $4.09 cents per gallon on average, according to AAA.

Trump, in his Friday evening post, wrote that the deal "will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity."

However, simply taking control of Venezuela's oil fields may not necessarily mean more oil will be produced immediately.

After the U.S. incursion into Venezuela earlier this year, experts told The Hill that producers who may want to pump Venezuelan oil could face significant hurdles including physically getting infrastructure set up.

Updated at 8:49 p.m.