President Trump said late Friday that the United States had struck a deal to take majority control of a huge portion of Venezuela’s oil reserves.
Any effort by the federal government to take a stake in another country’s oil fields would be highly unusual. It was not immediately clear what such an arrangement would look like or what Venezuela’s government might have agreed to.
Mr. Trump said in a social media post that the deal involved “a partnership with private business” and would give the United States control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. That is almost as much as all of the proven reserves in the United States, which is the world’s biggest oil producer.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were involved in the negotiations, the president said. Venezuela’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Trump administration has made Venezuela’s oil central to its campaign to assert greater U.S. control over energy in the Western Hemisphere, where rising production has helped blunt the loss of oil coming out of the Middle East over the past six months because of the Iran war.
Previous U.S. leaders often shied away from any suggestion that gaining control of another country’s natural resources was a primary objective of U.S. military and foreign policy, wary of the international backlash. But President Trump and some of his top advisers have made it clear that oil is an important part of their foray into Venezuela.
Even before the United States removed Venezuela’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, from power in January, American officials bluntly claimed that the United States had created Venezuela’s oil industry and that the country’s government had effectively stolen U.S. oil fields through nationalizations.
Mr. Trump made his announcement on Friday as Chevron, the second-largest U.S. oil company, was in advanced talks to significantly expand its operations in Venezuela, according to people familiar with the negotiations between the oil company and Venezuelan officials. That deal could be announced as early as next week.
Any new investment by Chevron, the only American company with a major presence in Venezuela, would bolster the country’s efforts to revitalize its ailing oil industry and struggling economy.
Chevron’s negotiations over new investments in Venezuela were reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal.
Several other U.S. oil companies have also been pursuing opportunities in the South American country, though much of what has come to fruition so far this year has been preliminary or relatively small.
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