The Daily Journal. — The Venezuelan government confirmed Friday night that it had signed an energy agreement with the United States that opens the development of “17 strategic fields, with proven potential of 65 billion barrels of oil” to private operators.
In an official statement posted on social media, acting President Delcy Rodríguez described the agreement as “a historic milestone in bilateral relations between Venezuela and the U.S.” that will have “a significant impact on the rebirth of our nation.”
In the statement, Rodríguez acknowledged the efforts of the U.S. administration: “I greatly thank the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the U.S. government for their willingness to develop this agreement.”
Operational scope
The agreement establishes a reactivation plan that involves the direct participation of international private operators in key extraction areas. According to the official statement, the roadmap includes “the development of 17 strategic fields, with proven potential of 65 billion barrels of oil, more than $100 billion in investment and more than $209 billion in tax revenue for the state.”
The statement emphasizes that the investments will support the modernization of Venezuela’s operating infrastructure and help stabilize regional energy markets: “These investments will contribute not only to the recovery and modernization of our industry, but also to our country’s economic growth, our hemisphere’s energy security and greater balance in international markets.”
The official statement stresses that the agreement aims to consolidate Venezuela as an “energy-producing power,” directing oil revenues and operational activity toward “national development, job creation, higher incomes for our workers and the well-being of our people.”
With this announcement, the Venezuelan government said the country “thus consolidates a new stage of recovery, growth, production, security and prosperity,” marking one of the largest openings to foreign energy investment in the recent history of Venezuela’s hydrocarbon sector.
“The largest oil deal in world history”
A few hours earlier, Donald Trump announced on his social media platform that Washington had reached “the largest oil deal in world history” with Caracas.
Trump said that under his direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, “working closely with the highly respected Interim President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez,” and through a partnership with private enterprise, secured “U.S. majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American taxpayer.”
“This historic transaction more than doubles U.S. oil reserves, greatly increases our crude oil supply and will substantially reduce gasoline prices for all Americans for a long time into the future,” he added.
