US to take control of Venezuela’s 65 billion barrels of crude reserves as Trump announces ‘biggest oil deal’
President Donald Trump said on Friday (local time) that the United States (US) has entered the “biggest oil deal” in the history of the world with Venezuela under which Washington will take control of 65 billion barrels of the Caracas’ oil reserves. The development comes months after Venezuela’s former President Nicolas Maduro’s government was toppled by the American forces.
The 80-year-old Republican leader said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth are working closely with Venezuela’s President Delcy Rodriguez for the agreement. He said this transaction will greatly strengthen the “already growing relationship” between the two countries.
“This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and 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,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
“Our deal with Venezuela is the biggest oil deal, by far, in World history!” he said in another post.
Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. According to an estimate by the US Energy Information Administration, the South American country has around 303 billion barrels of crude oil, which is roughly 17 per cent of the world’s total supply. Its oil reserves are also mapped and known, but Venezuela only produces around 1 per cent of the world’s oil because of poor infrastructure.
The Trump administration has kept urging US firms to invest in Venezuela and under the deal, private firm would be allowed to develop the oil fields, but for an American ownership stake in return, reported Axios, citing two US officials.
The Venezuelan side is yet to confirm about the deal, but Rubio said the agreement shows that Trump’s foreign policy, which is called “bold”, is helping the US secure stable reserves and keep the gas prices under control in the country. Although, even Rubio did not provide further details.
“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,” he said on micro-blogging platform X (formerly Twitter).
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