US secures majority control of Venezuelan crude output in new joint venture
Washington has secured a 55 percent stake in the output of a newly formed Venezuelan oil venture, a move that significantly expands American-controlled reserves amid severe global supply disruptions.
The United States has secured majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan crude reserves, representing roughly 21 percent of the country's total, following a new agreement with Caracas. Acting president Delcy Rodríguez confirmed the arrangement, which grants Washington a 55 percent share of effective output through a joint venture with an undisclosed local private operator.
Under the terms, the US government holds an equity stake alongside the right to purchase crude at cost. The joint venture holds 100-year concessions covering fields with approximately 63 billion barrels, making it the second-largest corporate holder of proven reserves globally behind Saudi Arabia's Aramco.
This consolidation of assets carries immediate implications for global energy markets, particularly as a six-month war with Iran has disrupted a fifth of the world's crude supply. The deal arrives just two months before US midterm elections, with domestic petrol prices exceeding four dollars a gallon and American strategic reserves at their lowest levels since the early 1980s.
Trump stated that "we have secured majority US control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American taxpayer," adding the transaction "more than doubles American oil reserves" beyond the existing 48 billion barrels of domestic proven crude. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who negotiated the pact alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, described the outcome as a mutual victory.
For Caracas, the agreement targets the development of 17 strategic fields requiring over 100 billion dollars in investment and generating more than 209 billion dollars in state taxes. Rodríguez stated the goal is "to consolidate our position as an energy-producing power, putting our immense reserves at the service of national development."
Corporate participation is already taking shape, with Chevron and services provider Halliburton reportedly involved in the operations. The arrangement follows a January reform enacted by Rodríguez that permitted private companies to manage extraction, prompting the US Treasury to ease sector sanctions.
The political landscape in Venezuela shifted dramatically nine months ago when US forces captured then president Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, leading to his transfer to New York for a drug trafficking trial. Despite the massive resource wealth, the local economy remains in crisis, with annual inflation near 600 percent and a 240-dollar minimum wage failing to cover half of a basic 500-dollar basket.
