Americas — 2026-08-28

US Nears Deal to Secure Lease on 17 Venezuelan Oil Fields Including Chinese-Operated Zones

BLUFFormal signature of a 100-year Venezuelan lease by late September remains unlikely given unresolved Chinese contracts and constitutional constraints, though active negotiation signals sustained US intent to lock in post-Maduro energy access.

The Trump administration is nearing a deal to secure long-term access to 17 Venezuelan oil fields, according to Reuters sources cited by Al Jazeera 1. Bloomberg reports the arrangement under discussion is a 100-year lease covering fields with roughly 90 billion barrels of proven reserves 2. Axios reports the deal would more than double US oil reserves and involves fields formerly tied to indicted Venezuelan insiders and Chinese interests, with talks led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodriguez 3. Some of the fields, located in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo, remain under contract to a Chinese firm signed during the Maduro government 1. Two US officials told Axios that Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to travel to Venezuela next week as details are finalized 3. The White House declined to comment when asked by Bloomberg 4.

Analysis
The deal would formally transfer effective US control over Venezuela's most productive fields, including Chinese-contracted acreage, converting leverage from Maduro's removal into a durable extraction claim. Formal signature by September 30 is unlikely: several Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo fields remain under contracts to Chinese firms signed during the Maduro government, Venezuelan constitutional constraints on foreign acreage rights remain unresolved, and a field-by-field allocation process among US producers has not begun. Low confidence reflects that officials describe active negotiation without a stated signing date while these structural barriers await resolution. The pursuit of a 100-year Venezuelan lease pairs with Iran's insistence on linking Hormuz to a regional settlement: Washington is hedging its energy security position against a protracted Iran confrontation.
4 sources
  1. US nears deal to secure stake in Venezuelan oil fields, insiders say - Al Jazeera
  2. US in Talks With Venezuela to Take Major Stake in Oil Fields - Bloomberg
  3. Scoop: U.S. close to striking "massive" deal for Venezuelan oil fields - Axios
  4. Trump admin in talks with Venezuela to take major stake in oil fields - Business Standard

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