WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced what he termed the “biggest oil deal in world history” on Friday, revealing an agreement with Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez that grants the United States majority control over 65 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves.
The pact, spearheaded by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, involves a partnership with private commercial operators to secure long-term access across 17 strategic fields in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo. According to White House officials, the framework grants the U.S. government an effective 55% share of output through equity ownership and guaranteed at-cost offtake, meant to replenish the dwindling U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve and supply the military.
The announcement arrives nearly nine months after a U.S. military operation removed former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power. Since then, Washington has moved aggressively to reshape ties with Caracas and revitalize Venezuela’s severely degraded energy infrastructure. Venezuelan officials project the arrangement will drive more than $100 billion in private investment and yield upwards of $209 billion in state tax revenues.
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Domestically, the administration faces mounting pressure over energy costs. The six-month-long conflict involving Iran has choked vital shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, sending shockwaves through global energy markets and pulling U.S. emergency stockpiles below 300 million barrels. Trump administration officials maintain that tapping into Venezuela’s vast reserves—which account for roughly 17% of global totals—will substantially lower domestic gasoline prices and expand Western Hemisphere energy independence.
While heralded by the White House as a historic “America First” triumph, the deal has drawn immediate scrutiny from international analysts and political factions regarding its long-term enforceability, the legality of hundred-year field concessions, and the hurdles of modernizing Venezuela’s stagnant oil production capacity. Implementation details and the identities of the private corporate partners are expected to be unveiled in the coming days as energy majors review terms for upcoming investments.