Trump announces 'biggest' deal for huge US stake in Venezuelan oil reserves

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that his administration has entered into what he termed "the biggest oil deal in world history" with Venezuela on Friday.

According to a statement posted on Truth Social, the bilateral agreement secures majority U.S. control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves in the South American nation.

How was the U.S.-Venezuela oil deal structured?

President Trump confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth finalized the deal through extensive negotiations with Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodriguez alongside private energy sector partners. White House officials later clarified that the framework grants a newly established private joint venture 100-year operational concessions across 17 major Venezuelan oil fields, with the U.S. government securing a 55 percent stake in the venture's output.

Interim President Rodriguez welcomed the transaction in Caracas, stating that the project is expected to attract more than $100 billion in private infrastructure investments and generate over $209 billion in tax revenues for Venezuela's national treasury. Rodriguez emphasized that foreign capital will be directed toward modernizing dilapidated refining and extraction facilities, ushering in economic recovery after years of sanctions and industrial decline.

According to CNN, administration officials noted that the transaction was executed at no direct cost to American taxpayers. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is scheduled to travel to Caracas next week to finalize operational timelines with international oil executives.

Why is the Trump administration pushing for Venezuelan crude now?

The announcement comes as Washington seeks to curb rising domestic gasoline prices driven by global energy supply disruptions following the six-month-old war in the Middle East. Naval blockades and maritime friction near the Strait of Hormuz have significantly curtailed Middle Eastern crude exports, placing heavy pressure on U.S. refineries and drawing down the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve below 300 million barrels.

Coverage from Al Jazeera that while Venezuela possesses the world's largest proven oil reserves at roughly 300 billion barrels, industry analysts caution that boosting physical output to meaningfully affect global pump prices could take years. Legal experts also note that 100-year leases and state asset transfers may face constitutional challenges under Venezuelan hydrocarbons laws if political dynamics shift in Caracas.