Washington and Caracas announced a deal on Friday granting the United States control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil, framing the arrangement as restitution for past nationalization of American energy assets. The agreement comes as President Trump faces domestic pressure to lower gasoline prices amid a six-month war involving Iran that has disrupted supply through the Strait of Hormuz.
The deal follows the January capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by US special forces and his transfer to face federal narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges in the United States. Venezuela holds an estimated 303 billion barrels of proven reserves, roughly 17% of global supply, but dilapidated infrastructure currently limits output to about 1% of world production. Trump has asked US oil firms to invest at least $100bn to overhaul the country's oil industry.
Chevron and Halliburton are nearing multibillion-dollar agreements to rebuild Venezuelan oil field infrastructure, while the US has tapped its strategic petroleum reserves, which fell below 300 million barrels in early August. Analysts warned that any material supply impact is unlikely within the next year because Venezuelan crude is heavy and sour, harder to refine into gasoline than the light, sweet oil US refineries typically process.
Opposition lawmaker Henrique Capriles questioned the deal's legal basis under Venezuela's constitution, citing government opacity and corruption. Energy consultant David Goldwyn called the arrangement unprecedented and unlikely to accelerate investment given political uncertainty, a weak power grid, and limited export capacity. The official text of the agreement has not been published.