The U.S. and Venezuela's interim government have signed a deal giving a U.S.-controlled private entity access to 65 billion barrels of crude across 17 fields for up to 100 years. The agreement reflects Washington's broader push to reassert dominance over the Americas and cut Chinese and Russian influence, but Venezuela's constitution leaves the concession open to legal challenge.
A century-long claim on Venezuelan crude
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright signed the deal on 2 September, handing North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) rights to 65 billion barrels of proven reserves across 17 fields out of Venezuela's total 303 billion barrels. President Donald Trump called it "the biggest oil deal in world history" in the days before the signing. The concession runs for up to 100 years, far beyond the typical 20-to-30-year span of modern oil concessions. The volume alone is nearly 1.5 times the size of the U.S.'s own territorial reserves of around 46 billion barrels. NABEP has thereby become the second-largest private oil company by reserves after ExxonMobil, with the U.S. Department of War holding a 35% equity stake in the entity.
Washington's hemisphere strategy
The deal follows the U.S.'s 2025 National Security Strategy, which introduced what it calls the "Trump Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine" — a pledge to deny rival powers control of strategic assets across the Americas. A 31 August White House Fact Sheet framed the arrangement as purging Russian- and Chinese-linked control over Venezuelan oil fields previously operated by those firms or by allies of Nicolás Maduro and Hugo Chavez. U.S. oversight of NABEP is extensive: Washington holds veto power over its board, U.S. citizens must hold a board majority, and the government is guaranteed the right to buy 20% of the pumped crude at cost with first refusal on the rest.
Legal risk and industry response
Venezuela's constitution requires National Assembly approval for long-term concessions over strategic resources, and the deal was negotiated only by an interim government whose legitimacy is contested. As a result, Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal of Justice could still challenge, freeze, or invalidate the concession. Venezuela's interim government, led by President Delcy Rodriguez, appears all in favour of the deal, projecting more than 1.5 million bpd of production from the 17 fields over a 25-year term. Its government forecasts this would generate over $100 billion in investment and $209 billion in tax revenue. Venezuela's crude oil output has already risen to around 1.21 million bpd. Eni has since signed a contract with PDVSA for the Junin 5 field. Chevron, separately, agreed to invest more than $7 billion over the next five years targeting about 600,000 bpd.
Source: Oilprice.com
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