Americas — 2026-08-30

Trump Announces Deal Giving US Majority Control of Over 60 Billion Barrels of Venezuelan Oil Reserves

BLUFUntil the venture's private partners are identified, likely within 90 days, congressional oversight and sanctions-compliance review of a 100-year concession covering 65 billion barrels cannot meaningfully begin.

President Trump announced Friday that the United States secured majority control of over 60 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves, calling it "the biggest oil deal in world history" and stating it came "at no cost to the American Taxpayer" 12. A U.S. official told CBS News that interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez granted a private joint venture a 100-year concession covering fields holding 65 billion barrels, with the U.S. government controlling 55% split between equity and at-cost oil access 1. The official described the venture as the world's second-largest corporate holder of proven oil reserves after Saudi Aramco; the private companies involved were not identified 1. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the deal will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment, while Rodriguez said in a statement on X that it will generate over $209 billion in tax revenue for Venezuela 1.

Analysis
Public identification of the venture's private partner is likely within 90 days, given SEC disclosure obligations for any U.S. equity holder and congressional scrutiny already primed by transparency concerns over the prior $8 billion Venezuelan oil-export arrangement. This judgment carries high confidence, based on disclosure norms accompanying large-scale foreign energy concessions. The new deal sharply expands that earlier arrangement into a 100-year, majority-equity concession formalizing U.S. financial control of Venezuela's petroleum sector, a shift three of four independently-reporting outlets converge on, supporting broad corroboration at high reliability. Keeping the operator unnamed may shield it from sanctions exposure or nationalization risk rather than reflect ordinary commercial confidentiality. Until identity is confirmed, congressional sanctions-compliance review and rival firms' benchmarking of reentry terms both remain stalled.

4 sources