The United States has reached an agreement with Venezuela that will give Washington control over the development of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves, US President Donald Trump announced.

Trump described the agreement as a historic transaction that would more than double US oil reserves, increase the country’s oil supply and help reduce gasoline prices for American consumers.

“This Historic Transaction MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves, greatly increases our Oil Supply, and will substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans,” Trump said in a social media post.

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez welcomed the agreement, saying it would have a significant impact on the country’s economic recovery and the revival of its oil industry.

$100 billion investment planned

According to Rodriguez, the agreement provides for the development of 17 strategic oil fields with proven potential of approximately 65 billion barrels.

She said the deal includes more than $100 billion in investment and could generate more than $209 billion in tax revenues for the Venezuelan state.

“These investments will contribute not only to the recovery and modernization of our industry, but also to our country's economic growth, the energy security of our hemisphere, and greater balance in international markets,” Rodriguez said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the agreement as “a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people.”

Rubio said the deal was expected to bring nearly $100 billion in private investment to Venezuela, support thousands of high-paying jobs and contribute to the reconstruction of the Venezuelan economy.

US to retain majority control

Trump said Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth negotiated the agreement with Venezuela’s leadership through a partnership involving private businesses.

However, the US president provided few details about the structure of the partnership, the obligations of the parties or the precise terms governing Washington’s involvement.

A US official told CBS News, the BBC’s media partner, that the US government would retain a 55% controlling interest in a joint venture with an experienced private operator in Venezuela.

According to the official, Rodriguez’s government has granted the venture a 100-year concession to operate in the designated oil fields.

The full text of the agreement has not yet been released, leaving significant questions about its legal framework, financial terms and the extent of US control over Venezuela’s sovereign resources.

Questions over sovereignty and legality

The unusually broad nature of the agreement has raised questions over whether it could face legal or constitutional challenges in Venezuela.

The arrangement appears to give the United States an unprecedented role in governing the development of a foreign country’s strategic natural resources.

The reported scope of the agreement is also broader than the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority’s control over Iraq’s oil revenues following the ouster of Saddam Hussein in the 2003 US-led invasion.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to tap Venezuela’s vast oil reserves since the United States captured former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.

Following the operation, Trump said his administration would oversee Venezuela until what he described as a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could take place. He also said the United States would indefinitely control the sale of Venezuelan oil.

Venezuela holds world’s largest proven oil reserves

Venezuela possesses the world’s largest proven oil reserves, estimated at around 303 billion barrels. Despite its enormous reserves, however, the country’s oil production has fallen sharply from its peak in the late 1990s.

Trump has called on US oil companies to invest at least $100 billion to restore Venezuela’s oil industry and increase production.

The US president has also asserted rights over Venezuelan oil, arguing that Venezuela previously “unilaterally seized and sold American oil, American assets and American platforms,” which he said cost the United States billions of dollars.

The latest agreement could therefore mark a major shift in the control and development of Venezuela’s oil sector, while its long-term economic, legal and geopolitical implications remain unclear. (ILKHA)