US-Venezuela Oil Deal: Trump Says America Now Controls 65 Billion Barrels of Reserves

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Trump Announces Historic US-Venezuela Oil Deal

US-Venezuela Oil Deal: Trump Says America Now Controls 65 Billion Barrels of Reserves

The pakistan times  Islamabad times

Aug 29 2026

US President Donald Trump has announced that Washington has struck what he called "the biggest oil deal in world history" with Venezuela, giving the United States control over more than 65 billion barrels of the South American country's oil reserves.

According to Trump, the agreement was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez, and involves both Venezuela's interim government and the private sector.

What the Deal Involves

Rodríguez's government said the agreement covers the development of 17 oil fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels. Officials said it could bring in $100 billion worth of investment into Venezuela's oil industry and generate more than $209 billion in tax revenue for Caracas over time.

Under the arrangement, the US will partner with a private operator inside Venezuela to form a new private company that will take control of the reserves. Rodríguez has reportedly granted this company 100-year rights to develop the fields. The deal gives the United States a 55% effective stake in the new company's output, including an ownership share and the right to buy oil at cost — a position that would make the company the second-largest corporate holder of proven oil reserves in the world, behind only Saudi Aramco.

Rodríguez described the deal as historic, saying it would have a "significant impact" on Venezuela's economic revival.

Why the Timing Matters

The announcement comes as Trump faces mounting political pressure over high gasoline prices at home. The war involving the US and Iran has disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and America's strategic petroleum reserve has dropped by more than 100 million barrels since the start of 2026. Average US gas prices have climbed to around $4.09 a gallon, up sharply from a year earlier.

Analysts caution that any drop in US gas prices tied to this deal will not happen quickly, since rebuilding Venezuela's badly damaged oil infrastructure will take years and billions of dollars in investment. Venezuela holds an estimated 303 billion barrels of oil — about 17% of the world's known reserves — but currently produces only a small fraction of its potential due to decades of underinvestment.

Pakistan Times Analyzes

This deal is less about barrels in the ground and more about leverage above it. Trump badging it "the biggest oil deal in world history" plays well domestically at a moment when gas prices are politically painful and the Iran conflict has squeezed Gulf supply routes — but the structure of the agreement suggests the real payoff is years away, not months. A 55% stake in a newly formed private company with 100-year field rights is a long-term claim on Venezuelan production, not an instant fix for pump prices.

The bigger story is the shift in who controls Venezuela's oil going forward. By channeling the reserves through a private company rather than a direct state-to-state transfer, Washington and Caracas have built a structure that can attract international capital while keeping the US in a dominant position. Whether major operators like ExxonMobil and Chevron actually commit billions to rebuild the country's infrastructure will determine if this becomes the historic deal Trump describes, or another agreement that looks bigger on paper than in production numbers.

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