The China Mail - US and Venezuela announce 65-billion-barrel oil development agreement

US President Donald Trump announced an oil-development agreement with Venezuela covering 17 fields with proven potential of 65 billion barrels. Trump described it as the largest oil deal in history and said it would more than double US reserves and reduce fuel prices without cost to American taxpayers.

An unnamed private operator would create a new company in Venezuela with 100-year rights to develop the fields, according to a US official who spoke anonymously. The United States would receive 55% of the venture’s effective output through an ownership stake and rights to purchase oil at cost. The official said the company would rank behind only Saudi Aramco among corporate holders of proven reserves.

Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, said the project could attract nearly $100 billion in investment and produce more than $209 billion in taxes for Caracas. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it would provide the United States with stable, low-cost supplies while supporting jobs and reconstruction in Venezuela. Trump also credited Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth with brokering the arrangement.

The agreement is the second between Washington and Venezuela’s new government since former president Nicolas Maduro was captured in January during Operation Absolute Resolve. Rodriguez subsequently signed legislation opening the oil industry to privatisation, reversing a central policy of the socialist movement that governed for more than two decades.

Venezuela has an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude, about 17% of global reserves, but damaged infrastructure limits production to roughly 1% of world output. Major US producers have shown caution about returning. ExxonMobil chief executive Darren Woods previously described the country as uninvestable.

The announcement came as US petrol averaged about $4.09 a gallon, compared with $3.21 a year earlier. US strategic petroleum reserves fell below 300 million barrels in early August, more than 100 million barrels lower than at the beginning of 2026, while the conflict with Iran has disrupted oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

L.Kwan--ThChM