WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Friday that his administration has reached a sweeping oil agreement with Venezuela that could give the United States access to vast amounts of the South American country’s reserves at cost.
Trump called it “the biggest oil deal in world history,” saying the agreement was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
The Venezuelan government said the agreement covers the development of 17 oil fields with proven potential of 65 billion barrels. Caracas said the deal could attract $100 billion in investment into Venezuela’s oil industry and generate more than $209 billion in tax revenue.
Rodríguez said the agreement would have a significant impact on Venezuela’s economic recovery.
Under the agreement, the United States would partner with an unnamed private operator in Venezuela to establish a new private company controlling the reserves, according to a U.S. official familiar with the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Rodríguez granted the company rights to develop the oil fields for 100 years, the official said.
The agreement would give the United States an effective 55% share of the company’s output through an ownership stake and the right to purchase oil at cost. The official said the company would become the world’s second-largest corporate holder of proven oil reserves after Saudi Aramco.
Oil purchased from the venture would be used to replenish the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and for military purposes, the official said.
The announcement comes nearly nine months after the U.S. military, acting on Trump’s orders, carried out an operation that captured then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face federal narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges. Maduro has pleaded not guilty and remains jailed in the U.S.
The deal also comes as Trump faces mounting pressure over rising fuel costs amid the continuing war with Iran, which reached the six-month mark on Friday.
The conflict has sharply reduced Gulf oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of global petroleum supplies passed before the war.
The U.S. has tapped its Strategic Petroleum Reserve during the conflict, with stocks falling below 300 million barrels in early August, more than 100 million barrels lower than at the beginning of 2026.
Average U.S. gasoline prices stood at about $4.09 a gallon Friday, compared with $3.21 a year earlier, according to AAA.
However, the Venezuelan agreement is unlikely to produce an immediate decline in fuel prices. Experts have warned that significantly increasing Venezuela’s oil production would require years of infrastructure repairs and expansion as well as billions of dollars in investment.
Major U.S. oil companies could also remain cautious about returning to Venezuela because of political uncertainty and the poor condition of the country’s energy infrastructure.
Following Maduro’s removal, Trump urged U.S. oil executives to return to Venezuela. While companies expressed interest, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods at the time described the country as “un-investable.”
Rodríguez subsequently signed legislation opening Venezuela’s oil industry to greater private investment, reversing a central policy of the socialist governments that have ruled the country for more than two decades.
Rubio said the new agreement would bring billions of dollars in private investment into Venezuela while helping lower U.S. gasoline prices.
Venezuela holds an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, or about 17% of the world’s total, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Despite those vast reserves, deteriorated infrastructure means the country currently accounts for only about 1% of global oil production.
Source: Saudi Gazette