In the night from Friday to Saturday,
Washington and Caracas announced that they had reached a “historic” oil deal, which will see the United States take majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s reserves.
In a post published on Truth Social, U.S. President Donald Trump described it as the “largest oil deal in world history” that would double, according to him, the United States’ oil reserves.
He specifies that the deal was established “in close collaboration with Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez” and “through a partnership with private companies.”
Caracas confirmed that it had signed a historic oil deal with the United States, Ms. Rodríguez warmly thanking Donald Trump in a statement posted on social media.
According to her, the agreement provides “to develop 17 strategic fields, with an apparent potential of 65 billion barrels of oil, an investment of over $100 billion and more than $209 billion in tax revenues for the Venezuelan state.”
“For the Venezuelan people, this agreement (…) will support thousands of well-paid jobs and will foster the reconstruction of the Venezuelan economy,” also said the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on X, confirming “nearly $100 billion in private investments” in the country.
Venezuela holds the largest proven oil reserves in the world, with more than 303 billion barrels. But its production remains limited.
Meanwhile, the American Strategic Petroleum Reserve (“Strategic Petroleum Reserve”, or SPR) is at its lowest level since November 1982, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Washington has pledged to gradually release 172 million barrels out of the 415 million that made up the SPR at the end of February to offset supply disruptions and the rise in crude prices linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
According to Donald Trump, “this historic transaction” between the United States and Venezuela will “significantly reduce the price of gasoline for all Americans, and for many years to come.”
The American president also ensures that this agreement “will cost American taxpayers nothing.”
