US Takes Control of 65 Billion Barrels of Venezuelan Oil in ‘Historic’ Deal
President Donald Trump announced Friday that the United States has reached what he called “the biggest oil deal in world history” with Venezuela. Through a partnership with private businesses, the agreement would give the U.S. majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves, according to NBC News and France 24.
Trump said the arrangement would more than double American oil reserves, increase supply and substantially lower gas prices over time. He also said the deal could bring nearly $100 billion in private investment and thousands of jobs to Venezuela as companies work to rebuild its aging oil industry.
The announcement is significant because Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves. However, control of reserves does not mean the oil will reach U.S. consumers immediately. Venezuela’s production has been constrained by damaged infrastructure, sanctions, political instability and the complexity of extracting its heavy crude.
A BBC analysis has highlighted the scale of those obstacles, warning that restoring meaningful production could require billions of dollars and many years. The White House has not publicly released the full agreement or explained every detail of how majority control would work.
For American households, the key question is timing. Any effect on gas prices will depend on investment, repairs, production levels, global oil markets and refining capacity: not simply the size of Venezuela’s reserves.
We’ll continue following developments through Brownstone Worldwide. What do you think: could this agreement lower prices, or will the benefits take years to reach drivers?
