The agreement should double the oil reserves of the United States according to Donald Trump. Washington and Caracas announced on Friday August 28 that they had concluded a “historic” oil agreement, which will see the United States take majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s reserves.
In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump called it “the largest oil deal in world history.” It specifies that the agreement was established “in close collaboration with the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodriguez” and “through a partnership with private companies”.
Caracas confirmed it had signed a “historic” oil deal with the United States, with Delcy Rodriguez “warmly” thanking Donald Trump in a statement posted on social media.
According to her, the agreement plans to “develop 17 strategic fields, with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels of oil, an investment of more than $100 billion and more than $209 billion in tax revenue for the Venezuelan state.”
“For the Venezuelan people, this agreement (…) will support thousands of well-paying jobs and promote the reconstruction of the Venezuelan economy,” also declared the head of American diplomacy Marco Rubio on X, confirming “nearly 100 billion dollars of private investment” in the country.
Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, with more than 303 billion barrels. But its production remains limited.
Also readVenezuela will open the exploitation of its oil to the private sector
At the same time, American strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) are at their lowest level since November 1982, according to data from the American Energy Information Agency (EIA).
Washington has committed to gradually releasing 172 million barrels out of the 415 million that made up the SPR at the end of February to compensate for supply disruptions and the rise in crude prices linked to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
According to Donald Trump, “this historic transaction” between the United States and Venezuela will “significantly reduce the price of gasoline for all Americans for many years.”
The American president also assures that this agreement “will not cost American taxpayers anything”.
Negotiations “already underway”
Since the American military raid which led to the capture of Nicolas Maduro in early January, Donald Trump wants to relaunch the exploitation of Venezuelan oil and gas resources under his own patronage.
The American government is trying to push American companies to get involved in the country, however sparking mixed reactions to the heavy investments necessary to rehabilitate the country’s oil infrastructure and extract black gold.
A reluctance also aroused by the expropriations carried out by the Venezuelan regime in the past. The American giant ExxonMobil was notably on two occasions.
“The main problem in Venezuela was safety and security,” John Kilduff, analyst at Again Capital, told AFP.
According to him, the United States could seek with this agreement to “create a sort of state zone where American companies can establish themselves, carry out their activities without suffering repercussions, and (…) eliminate the political risk that usually accompanies investments in Venezuela”.
“These are projects which will certainly take many years before seeing the light of day and bearing fruit,” said oil expert Oswaldo Felizzola.
For Elias Ferrer, founder of the Orinoco Research think tank, this announcement is “a game of narratives around agreements which were already being negotiated”, the purchase by the United States of Venezuelan crude being in all cases “guaranteed”.
According to the expert, Donald Trump presents these arrangements as a political victory, placing them in the broader context of the conflict in the Middle East and the surge in energy prices.
With AFP
