U.S. Secures Majority Control of Venezuelan Oil Reserves in Landmark Agreement

President Trump announced late Friday that the United States had reached an agreement to secure majority control over a significant portion of Venezuela’s oil reserves, signaling a comprehensive effort to establish U.S. dominance over energy resources in the Western Hemisphere.

According to a State Department official, the agreement represents an unusually direct involvement in another nation’s oil fields through a partnership with a private company.

According to two individuals familiar with the partnership, the company is connected to Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López.

In a social media post, Trump stated that the deal would grant the United States control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves—a volume nearly equivalent to all of the proven reserves in the United States, the world’s largest oil producer.

Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez described the agreement as “historic,” noting it would encompass the development of 17 oil fields and have a “significant impact on our nation’s revival.”

Rodríguez explained that the deal aims at “putting our immense reserves at the service of national development.” She indicated it would attract over $100 billion in investment and generate an estimated $209 billion for Venezuela’s financially constrained government, which has been working to improve living conditions following earthquakes in June that killed more than 6,500 people.

However, specific details remained scarce, and the agreement’s text was not immediately accessible. Betancourt did not respond to requests for comment, and the State Department declined to address questions regarding his potential involvement in the arrangement.

Within Venezuela, Betancourt is frequently referred to as a “bolichico” or “Bolivarian boy”—terms describing Venezuelan businessmen who receive government favoritism and have profited considerably during the country’s socialist revolution. (The government named this revolution after Simón Bolívar, the country’s independence hero.)

The Trump administration deposed and detained Rodríguez’s predecessor, Nicolás Maduro, in January, effectively transforming a former adversary into something resembling a client state. As part of this transition, the administration positioned Venezuela’s oil as central to its campaign for expanding U.S. influence over energy in the Americas, where increased production has helped offset oil losses from the Middle East over the past six months due to the Iran conflict.

Previous U.S. administrations typically avoided any indication that obtaining influence over another nation’s natural resources constituted a primary objective of U.S. military and foreign policy, concerned about international backlash, legal challenges, and the potential for such actions to provoke security threats against the United States.

However, Trump and several of his senior advisors have explicitly identified oil as a significant component of their engagement with Venezuela.

Even prior to Maduro’s removal, U.S. officials directly asserted that the United States had established Venezuela’s oil industry and that the Venezuelan government had effectively appropriated U.S. oil fields through nationalization.

Unlike most other major oil-producing nations, the United States lacks a national oil company through which to make investments. When asked for comment, the State Department indicated through the official that the deal would effectively grant the United States 55 percent of the output from a joint venture with an unidentified “experienced private operator in Venezuela.”

Oil exploration in Venezuela is typically conducted by the state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, or through partnerships between PDVSA and private companies.

Trump made his announcement on Friday as Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, was engaged in advanced negotiations to substantially expand its Venezuelan operations, according to individuals familiar with discussions between the company and Venezuelan officials. That separate agreement could be announced as early as next week.

Any new investment by Chevron—the only American company maintaining a substantial presence in Venezuela—would support the country’s efforts to revitalize its struggling oil industry and economy.

The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on Chevron’s negotiations regarding new investments in Venezuela.

Several other U.S. oil companies have also been pursuing opportunities in the South American country, though most developments this year have remained preliminary or relatively limited in scope.

The Trump administration’s agreement highlights a significant transformation occurring in Venezuela’s energy sector, which is believed to hold the world’s largest oil reserves. Government control over oil resources has shaped the country’s politics for decades, and many Venetuelans consider oil a birthright and fundamental element of national identity.

Under U.S. pressure just weeks after Maduro’s capture, Venezuela’s National Assembly approved significant revisions to oil industry legislation, granting foreign oil companies greater control over their operations in the country. This action largely reversed Venezuela’s 2007 nationalization of oil projects and paved the way for Chevron to expand its presence.

The nationalization had been a cornerstone of Chavismo, the political movement established by Hugo Chávez, Maduro’s predecessor, which maintained control over Venezuela until this year.

Rodríguez, a Maduro ally who succeeded him as president, has faced U.S. threats that she could suffer a similar fate. However, she has demonstrated considerably greater willingness to cooperate with the U.S. government and regularly communicates and meets with senior Trump administration officials.

Anatoly Kurmanaev, Julie Turkewitz, and Lisa Friedman contributed reporting.

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