Trump says US has entered deal with Venezuela to take control of 65
billion barrels of oil reserves
[August 29, 2026]
By AAMER MADHANI, COLLIN BINKLEY and REGINA GARCIA CANO
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that his
administration has entered a sweeping agreement with Venezuela that, if
realized, could give the U.S. access to vast amounts of the South
American country’s untapped oil reserves, at cost.
Trump in a social media post announcing the agreement said it was
negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth and Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
“The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with
the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!”
Trump wrote.
Rodríguez’s government in a statement said the deal involves the
development of 17 fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels.
It said the agreement could draw $100 billion in investment into
Venezuela's oil industry and yield over $209 billion in taxes for
Caracas.
Rodríguez in a posting on Telegram predicted the deal “will have a
significant impact on our nation’s revival.”
The agreement allows for the United States to partner with an unnamed
private operator in Venezuela to create a new private company to take
hold of the reserves, according to a U.S. official familiar with the
contours of the deal.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on
the condition of anonymity, added that Rodríguez granted the company
100-year rights to develop the oil fields.
The deal gives the United States 55% effective output of the new private
company -- including an ownership stake and rights to buy oil at cost.
The company would be the second largest corporate holder of proven
reserves after Saudi Aramco, according to the official.
Trump is under pressure to show he’s lowering oil costs
The announcement comes nearly nine months after the U.S. military at
Trump’s direction carried out an operation to capture Venezuela’s
then-President Nicolás Maduro and spirit him to the United States to
face federal narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges.
Trump faces mounting pressure to address high gas prices as the war in
Iran on Friday reached a six-month milestone with no conclusion in
sight. The U.S. has tapped its strategic petroleum reserves, which in
early August fell below 300 million barrels, down by more than 100
million barrels since the start of 2026.
The U.S.-Israel war against Iran has led to a dramatic slowdown of Gulf
oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz, which about 20% of the world
petroleum passed through prior to the conflict.
The average price of gas in the U.S. stood at about $4.09 a gallon on
Friday, according to AAA. The average price was $3.21 at the same time
last year.
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A significant drop in U.S. gas prices tied to the agreement should
not be expected immediately. Experts have repeatedly warned that a
substantial boost in Venezuelan oil production will not happen
quickly as repairing and expanding infrastructure takes years and
requires billions of dollars.
Persuading big American oil companies to return the region could
face headwinds given the political uncertainty and decades of badly
damaged infrastructure.
Days after the ouster of Maduro, Trump gathered oil executives at
the White House and called on them to rush back into Venezuela.
Executives expressed interest in the opportunity but there was also
a measure of caution given their past experience in the country.
Darren Woods, CEO of ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company, said
at that moment he saw the country as “un-investable.”
But Trump has insisted that his administration has brought a measure
of stability to Venezuela.
He has argued that Venezuela stole U.S. oil when former Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez moved decades ago to nationalize hundreds of
foreign-owned assets, including those owned by American oil
companies.
Rodríguez, in one of her early moves after taking power, signed a
law that opens the nation’s oil sector to privatization and reversed
a bedrock tenet of the self-proclaimed socialist movement that has
ruled the country for more than two decades.
Rubio said on X that the agreement would usher in billions in
private investment into Venezuela and lead to lower gas prices in
the United States.
“This deal is a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan
people,” Rubio posted.
The oil bought from the new company would go toward filling the U.S.
strategic petroleum reserve and toward military use, according to
the U.S. official.
Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world, with an
estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil in the ground. That’s
about 17% of the world’s supply, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration. Unlike other parts of the world, where
geologists have to search for untapped oil, the reserves under
Venezuela’s soil are largely mapped and known, experts say. But
because of dilapidated infrastructure, the country only produces
about 1% of the world’s oil.
Maduro remains jailed in the U.S. He has pleaded not guilty.
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Garcia Cano reported from Caracas.
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