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President Donald Trump announced on August 28 that the United States had secured majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves in what he termed the biggest oil deal in world history. In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated that at his direction Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had negotiated the pact with interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez through a partnership with private business at no cost to American taxpayers. “This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future, while helping to continue to set Venezuela on a course toward Tremendous Success and Great Prosperity,” Trump wrote.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves but produces only about 1.25 million barrels per day after years of underinvestment, mismanagement and sanctions, according to Reuters. A White House official told CNN the negotiated deal grants the United States 55 percent effective output of a new private joint venture that will rank as the second-largest private oil company by reserves in the world, backed by 100-year concessions on the fields. The resulting stable supply of at-cost oil is directed toward filling the US strategic petroleum reserve and meeting the needs of the US military.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the agreement as a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people in a post on X. Rubio added that for Venezuelans the deal will bring nearly 100 billion dollars in private investment, support thousands of high-paying jobs and drive the reconstruction of the country’s economy. Trump had pressed US oil companies to commit at least 100 billion dollars to restore Venezuela’s industry, which peaked in the late 1990s before entering a steep decline.
The announcement follows a US military operation in January 2026 that captured and removed then-President Nicolas Maduro, after which Washington began issuing general licenses to facilitate American investment and marketing of Venezuelan crude, a Department of Energy fact sheet showed. Reuters sources indicated that talks had centered on a lease model for a group of fields in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo, some previously tied to Chinese operators, with the US gaining an ownership stake in return for development that returns revenue to Venezuela. The pact could face legal and constitutional challenges in Venezuela where the state retains overarching control of the oil sector.
US Energy Information Administration data places Venezuela’s total proven reserves at roughly 303 billion barrels, equivalent to about 17 percent of global supply. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to a 40-year low amid supply disruptions from conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, an Axios assessment found. Officials have framed the Venezuela agreement as a step toward replenishing the reserve while easing domestic fuel price pressures ahead of midterm elections.
Negotiations intensified in the weeks prior to the announcement with a focus on more than a dozen productive fields containing the targeted reserves, according to reporting by multiple outlets including The Washington Post. Trump administration actions earlier in the year had already rolled back certain sanctions selectively to enable equipment imports and diluent shipments needed to upgrade Venezuela’s heavy crude. Full terms of the joint venture and participating companies have not been publicly detailed.
