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The agreement negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with interim Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez involves long-term access to oilfields and guaranteed crude supply to the United States according to multiple reports. Trump posted on Truth Social that the pact was reached at no cost to the American taxpayer through the private sector partnership. A US official said the joint venture would operate under 100-year concessions on fields holding the reserves with Washington securing 55 percent effective output including equity and at-cost oil.
Trump stated that the historic transaction more than doubles American oil reserves greatly increases supply and will substantially lower gas prices for all Americans long into the future. Rubio described the arrangement as a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people on social media. He added that for Venezuelans the deal will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment support thousands of high-paying jobs and drive reconstruction of the economy.
Rodriguez welcomed the agreement calling it historic and said it would generate $209 billion in tax revenue while enabling development of 17 strategic fields Venezuelan officials confirmed. The interim leader assumed her position after a US military operation seized former president Nicolás Maduro in January this year. Preparations are underway to sign additional exploration and production agreements next week focused on American companies.
The US Energy Information Administration places Venezuela’s total proven reserves at roughly 303 billion barrels the largest globally and representing about 17 percent of world supply. The portion covered by the new deal amounts to approximately one fifth of the country’s holdings. Production has fallen sharply from peaks in the late 1990s due to infrastructure decline and underinvestment leaving output near 1 percent of global totals.
The new entity created under the pact would rank as the second-largest corporate holder of proven reserves after Saudi Aramco a US official indicated. Negotiations spanned several weeks and centered on reviving Venezuela’s battered energy sector while securing stable low-cost supplies for the United States. The model under consideration includes elements that could face legal and constitutional questions in Venezuela where the state has historically retained oversight of core oil activities.
The announcement comes as the US strategic petroleum reserve has dropped below 300 million barrels amid broader supply pressures from international conflicts. Trump has pressed American firms to commit at least $100 billion toward restoring Venezuelan production capacity. Rodriguez’s administration has begun reversing prior policies by opening the sector to greater privatization.
