Betancourt Courts Investors for 65 Billion-Barrel Venezuela Venture as Trump Offers Up to $200 Billion Guarantees
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Aug 30
Betancourt Courts Investors for 65 Billion-Barrel Venezuela Venture as Trump Offers Up to $200 Billion Guarantees
3 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Aug 30
Summary
Alejandro Betancourt has begun pitching investors on licences and joint ventures across 17 Venezuelan oilfields covered by the Trump administration’s new Caracas deal, which gives his company a minority role in a venture controlling more than 65 billion barrels.
The structure aims to revive Venezuela’s battered oil sector by pairing private investment with Pentagon-backed risk guarantees; the Office of Strategic Capital can lend up to $200 billion, though no upfront US cash is planned.
Delcy Rodríguez said the agreement includes eight greenfield Orinoco blocks with minimum royalties of 16% and income tax of 34%, while Trump said US strategic reserves would be refilled with Venezuelan oil.
Major oil groups still appear cautious: ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have stayed out after past expropriations, while Chevron, Repsol and Eni have only struck separate agreements this year.
The deal faces legitimacy and durability questions because Trump cited a 100-year concession, Rodríguez said 25 years, and critics warn a future elected Venezuelan government or a US political shift could challenge it.