Donald Trump announced on Friday, August 28, what he called "the biggest oil deal in world history": a pact through which Washington gains majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves.
The White House has released few details, but the scale of the agreement makes it one of the most ambitious energy initiatives in recent history.
The agreement is the culmination of a process that began after the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026.
From that moment on, Trump predicted that major oil companies would enter Venezuela to repair the infrastructure and generate revenue. Nearly nine months later, that goal took concrete shape.
The terms of the agreement
The U.S. government and an unidentified private operator formed a joint venture with rights over 17 strategic fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels, equivalent to more than 21% of Venezuela's total reserves, the largest in the world.
The United States acquires 55% of the effective production, combining equity participation with rights to purchase crude oil at cost price, intended for strategic reserves and the military, according to an anonymous official cited by AP.
Trump specified that the agreement was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and the acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez.
A key discrepancy: 25 or 100 years?
One of the darkest points is the duration of the agreement. Anonymous U.S. sources cited by AP indicated that the company was granted rights to develop the fields for 100 years.
However, Rodríguez stated on state television that the duration is 25 years, with a production target of over 1.5 million barrels per day.
None of the parties have published the full text.
Rodríguez projected that the agreement will attract over 100 billion dollars in investment and generate more than 209 billion in taxes for the Venezuelan State, insisting that “Venezuela maintains ownership and sovereignty over its resources.”
The geopolitical weight for the United States
By adding the 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil to its own 46 billion barrels of reserves, the U.S. would have control over approximately 111 billion barrels, putting it on par with the United Arab Emirates.
The new company would also be the second largest corporate holder of proven reserves in the world, only behind Saudi Aramco.
The immediate context is the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has driven up gasoline prices in the U.S. to $4.08 per gallon, compared to $3.20 a year earlier.
Will gas prices drop?
Experts are skeptical.
Amy Myers Jaffe from New York University warned that the agreement “could be useful in the long term, but it will do nothing to change the price of gasoline at the retail station for Labor Day weekend,” scheduled for September 7.
Kevin Book, from ClearView Energy Partners, was similarly cautious: "It will take time—many years—to deploy all that capital and produce the kind of incremental results that history suggests is possible."
Venezuela currently produces 1.23 million barrels per day, compared to 3.1 million in 1998.
Legal doubts and political criticisms
The agreement clashes with the Venezuelan Constitution, which states in Articles 12 and 13 that hydrocarbon deposits are "inalienable and imprescriptible" and prohibits transferring them to foreign powers.
The Rodríguez government argues that the reform of the Organic Hydrocarbons Law, approved in January 2026, allows for operational access contracts without transferring ownership of the resource.
The economist Ricardo Hausmann from Harvard was blunt: "The U.S. chose to promote an asset seizure, an unconstitutional agreement with an illegitimate and oppressive government."
Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Chris Van Hollen described the operation as “epic-scale corruption.”
In Caracas, Douglas Borjas, interviewed by AP in a market in the city, summarized the feelings of many citizens:
"I believe they are doing this to cling to power. It's like saying, 'I'll give you a large amount of oil as long as you leave me in power.' The Venezuelan people deserve better."
Despite the criticism, the PSUV issued a statement of "full support" for the agreement, marking a historic shift in the Chavista discourse.
Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of the former ruler imprisoned in the U.S., publicly thanked Trump and Rubio for "their willingness to develop this agreement."
The full text of the agreement has yet to be published.
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