Donald Trump said the US has secured majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday, Trump said the US has reached “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY” with interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez and private companies, and that the agreement would come “at no cost to the American Taxpayer.”
“This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves,” Trump wrote, adding that it would substantially lower gas prices.
The White House has not released the agreement or explained which companies are participating, how “control” is defined, or how quickly the oil could reach global markets.
The announcement follows the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January and Trump’s push for American oil producers to rebuild Venezuela’s deteriorated energy industry. Trump previously said companies would spend at least $100 billion on the effort.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, Venezuela has the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, at about 303 billion barrels. But years of underinvestment, sanctions, and political instability have gutted its production capacity.
“A tremendous amount of money will have to be spent,” Trump previously told NBC News in an interview in January, pointing at his plans to extract oil in Venezuela, “And the oil companies will spend it, and then they’ll get reimbursed by us or through revenue.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
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