The Trump administration announced an agreement giving the U.S. government majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves, along with governance rights and access to low-cost oil from a private company operating there.
The White House described the agreement as the largest oil deal in history and said it would add control over reserves exceeding the roughly 46 billion barrels of proven reserves in U.S. territory. The release did not disclose the agreement's full contract, valuation or ownership structure.
Agreement covers 17 Venezuelan oil fields
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth signed the agreement, according to the White House. The administration said the deal provides economic ownership, governance authority and guaranteed low-cost purchasing rights from a private Venezuelan oil company it identified as NABEP.
The release said NABEP would become the world's second-largest private oil company when measured by reserves. It also said the company already produces 250,000 barrels a day, though the announcement did not identify the operator by a longer corporate name or provide supporting production records.
The agreement covers 17 oil fields that the administration said had been controlled or operated by Russian and Chinese companies or people aligned with the former governments of Nicolás Maduro and Hugo Chávez. The White House said the arrangement is with a private company, not Venezuela's interim government, and did not involve a political negotiation with that government.
U.S. officials said additional Venezuelan production would be processed at American refineries and developed with U.S. rigs and infrastructure. The administration projected billions of dollars in U.S. investment and thousands of jobs but did not provide detailed estimates or a timetable for those projections.
Administration links oil output to transition plan
The White House placed the deal within a three-part Venezuela policy focused on stabilization, economic recovery and reconciliation, followed by what it called a democratic transition. It argued that private investment and higher oil production are necessary to stabilize Venezuela's economy before elections can take place.
The administration said it established financial monitors, audits and governance protections intended to direct oil revenue toward uses benefiting Venezuelans. Any money NABEP allocates to state-owned oil company PDVSA would move through a U.S.-managed and audited account, according to the release.
Officials compared the structure to Chevron's operations in Venezuela and said the contract is governed by U.S. law. The White House said U.S. law firms and auditors negotiated provisions intended to provide oversight and prevent misuse of oil revenue.
The administration said material production could begin reaching the United States early next year because of the purchasing rights in the agreement. It also said oil could begin flowing to the broader market at cost by the end of this year and predicted that increased supply would lower gasoline prices, though it did not quantify an expected price effect.
The White House said the arrangement would cost U.S. taxpayers nothing. The release did not detail how the U.S. government acquired its ownership interest or how revenue, liabilities and operating costs would be divided among the government, NABEP and other participants.
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