US-Venezuela Deal Grants 100-Year Control of 17 Oilfields Holding 65 Billion Barrels
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Sep 1
US-Venezuela Deal Grants 100-Year Control of 17 Oilfields Holding 65 Billion Barrels
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 1
Summary
A US-led company won 100-year concessions over 17 Venezuelan oilfields in a Caracas deal covering 65 billion barrels—more than one-fifth of the country's proven reserves.
The pact advances Trump's stated goal of controlling Venezuelan oil sales and comes as the US war with Iran lifts fuel prices, making non-Middle East supply more strategically valuable.
White House terms give Washington unusual leverage: it will work with private producer Nabep, hold veto power over board appointments, and require a majority of directors to be US citizens.
Trump and interim President Delcy Rodríguez say the agreement could bring $100 billion in investment and over $200 billion in tax revenue, but energy experts say Venezuela may need a decade and roughly $100 billion just to restore output.
Critics from Venezuela's opposition, socialists and even former Trump envoy Elliott Abrams call the terms colonial and opaque, arguing Washington has traded promises of democratic change for resource control.
How will a 100-year US-controlled oil pact survive Venezuela's complex creditor claims and constitutional hurdles?
Will the promise of massive investment overcome a decade of infrastructure decay to revive Venezuela's oil empire?
Why is a historic 65-billion-barrel oil deal relying on secret financial routing through Qatar to avoid global creditors?
The 2026 US-Venezuela Oil Deal: 65 Billion Barrels, 100-Year Concession, and the Geopolitical, Legal, and Economic Fallout
Overview
The 2026 US-Venezuela oil deal was triggered by a global oil shock after the U.S.-Iran conflict closed the Strait of Hormuz, causing oil reserves and gasoline supplies to plummet. Facing political pressure and a depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the Trump administration turned to Venezuela, where a U.S.-backed interim government opened its oil sector to American investment. The deal bypassed major U.S. oil companies, partnering instead with a private firm, and required Venezuela to cut ties with China and Russia. Despite promises of economic revival, the agreement faces huge infrastructure deficits, environmental risks, legal uncertainties, and a lack of transparency over oil revenues.