Trump’s deal to take over Venezuelan oil: all the relevant facts to know

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• The US government will take a majority stake in a new company that has the rights to develop 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan crude, or about one-fifth of the country’s total proven reserves.

• Venezuela possesses approximately 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, making it the country with the world’s largest known oil reserves. Approximately 17% of the world’s proven oil reserves are estimated to be located in Venezuela.

• Yet the country produces only about 1.2–1.25 million barrels per day, a fraction of its potential.

•Venezuela has nevertheless made progress since the US government captured Nicolás Maduro. Production has risen to roughly 1.2 million barrels per day, approximately 150,000 barrels per day more than at the beginning of 2026.

• The current production level remains dramatically below Venezuela’s historical output. Before Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999, Venezuela produced approximately 3.5 million barrels per day.

• The United States has already dramatically increased its imports of Venezuelan crude.

US crude imports from Venezuela have more than quadrupled in 2026, reaching approximately 600,000 barrels per day. This is the highest level of US imports of Venezuelan oil since the first Trump administration imposed sanctions on Venezuela in 2019.

• Venezuela is now the second-largest source of imported oil to the United States, behind only Canada, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

•This is notable because the United States is both the world’s largest crude-oil producer and a net exporter of oil and fuel. Nevertheless, it continues to import significant quantities of crude because the characteristics of American and Venezuelan oil are different.

American crude is generally light and sweet, making it particularly suitable for producing gasoline. Venezuelan crude is predominantly heavy and sour, which makes it more suitable for producing products such as asphalt, industrial oils, diesel and jet fuel.

• Donald Trump has struggled to convince major American oil companies to make significant investments in Venezuela’s oil industry after the United States captured Nicolás Maduro and arrested him on conspiracy charges in January 2026.

• The exception is Chevron, the only major US oil company to have maintained a constant presence in Venezuela throughout the past several decades.

• The unusual decision by the United States government itself to have a direct majority interest in a private foreign oil operation could send a signal to America’s major oil companies that investing in Venezuela is once again considered safe.

The new agreement announced by Trump on Friday involves the following:

• The reported model is that the US government would obtain its 55% effective share through both ownership in the new venture and the right to purchase oil at cost.

This would give the United States an effective claim to 55% of the new company’s output.

• American purchases of the oil would reportedly be used partly to replenish the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and partly to meet military requirements.

• The deal will reportedly involve the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital, which channels funds into projects considered important for US national security.

• Venezuelan Interim President Delcy Rodríguez granted the joint venture a 100-year concession to operate the oil fields.

• Rodríguez said the agreement would generate more than $100 billion in investment in Venezuela’s oil industry, generate more than $209 billion in tax revenue for the Venezuelan state, and create or support thousands of high-paying jobs.

She clarified: “As everyone knows, our country has the biggest oil reserves in the world. But having resources underground isn’t enough. We need investment, technology, infrastructure [and] production capacity to convert this wealth into wellbeing for our people.”

The Venezuelan government therefore presents the agreement as a mechanism for rebuilding the country’s oil industry while simultaneously generating government revenues and broader economic growth.

• The United States has approximately 46 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, according to government estimates at the end of 2024.

• Trump claimed that the agreement will “MORE THAN DOUBLES American Oil Reserves.” If the 65 billion barrels were simply added to the approximately 46 billion barrels of US proven reserves, the combined figure would be around 111 billion barrels.

• The 100-year lease would reportedly create the world’s second-largest oil company by total reserves, behind Saudi Aramco.

US gasoline prices have risen substantially amid the war involving Iran, creating political pressure on Trump to bring fuel prices down.

Trump therefore presents Venezuelan oil as a way of increasing oil supplies and ultimately reducing American gasoline prices.

Similarly, the US argues that the agreement would provide the United States with stable, low-cost oil while simultaneously giving Venezuela the capital it needs to rebuild its oil industry.

The apparent direct US ownership also represents a major departure from the conventional relationship between the United States and foreign oil-producing countries.

• For the United States, the deal could provide access to large quantities of Venezuelan crude, help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which currently holds approximately 290 million barrels, down from 410 million barrels one year ago and a peak of 730 million barrels in 2010, support the continuation of the war with Iran, and help the United States avoid losing ground in its rivalry with China.

• The crucial uncertainty is whether the enormous financial commitments can actually restore Venezuela’s badly degraded oil infrastructure and substantially increase production. The oil exists, but converting the 65 billion barrels underground into a much larger flow of produced oil could take years and require enormous investment.