President Donald Trump announced an agreement with Venezuela securing majority U.S. control over 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. The deal, negotiated by top officials and interim President Delcy Rodriguez, aims to revive Venezuela’s battered energy industry and lower American gasoline prices without costing taxpayers.
The 65-Billion-Barrel Agreement: What Trump and Officials Claim
The United States has entered into a sweeping agreement with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels of the South American nation’s oil reserves. President Donald Trump announced the arrangement on social media, describing it as the biggest oil deal in world history!
Trump stated that the accord was forged through a partnership with private business and came at no expense to American taxpayers. The administration’s top foreign and defense officials led the discussions.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that, at his direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, had secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer.
The announcement follows weeks of negotiations over an arrangement designed to give American companies long-term access to Venezuelan oilfields while guaranteeing crude supplies for domestic refineries. While specifics on the exact corporate structures or fields remain sparse, the administration insists the move more than doubles American oil reserves. Sources previously told Reuters that a lease model was under consideration, with fields potentially auctioned to U.S. producers.
Economic Stakes and Industry Realities in Venezuela
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, sitting on an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude — roughly 17% of the global supply, as noted by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Despite this vast underground wealth, the nation’s actual output lags severely.
Decades of underinvestment, economic instability, and dilapidated infrastructure mean the OPEC nation currently produces only about 1.25 million barrels per day, far below its potential after years of underinvestment, mismanagement and sanctions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that the new partnership will help reverse that decline.
He wrote that it demonstrated how President Trump’s bold foreign policy was driving America First wins: securing stable reserves and low-cost oil in our Hemisphere and lowering gas prices here at home. He added that for the Venezuelan people, this deal would bring nearly $100 billion in private investment, support thousands of high-paying jobs, and drive the reconstruction of Venezuela’s economy.
Political Pressures and Unanswered Questions
The timing of the oil announcement intersects with mounting political pressures facing the White House as the midterms loom. The administration is navigating domestic concerns over rising gasoline prices, which have spiked because of the war with Iran, which the U.S. and Israel started exactly six months ago. Securing external crude supplies offers a mechanism to relieve pump prices ahead of upcoming elections.
At the same time, the broader geopolitical footprint in Venezuela has shifted dramatically since the U.S. military carried out an operation in January to capture Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro to face federal narcoterrorism and drug trafficking charges in the U.S. Yet legal and constitutional hurdles persist. Previous reporting noted that lease models involving auctioned fields could face legal and constitutional challenges in Venezuela, where the state retains control over core oil industry activities. As the administration moves forward, details regarding the structure of the agreement and specific operational details remain unconfirmed.
