U.S. close to striking "massive" deal for Venezuelan oil fields

*U.S. close to striking "massive" deal for Venezuelan oil fields*

Marc Caputo <https://www.axios.com/authors/mcaputo>, 
https://www.axios.com/2026/08/27/trump-venezuela-oil-deal-talks

The Trump 
<https://www.axios.com/politics-policy/donald-trump>administration is in 
talks with Venezuela's interim government about taking an ownership 
stake in the South American country's enormous oil resources, two U.S. 
officials tell Axios.

*Why it matters*: The historic deal would more than double U.S. oil 
reserves by drawing from a country that has the world's largest proven 
reserves.

  * "Calling this deal huge would be an understatement," one of the
    officials said. "It is massive."
  * Adding pressure to get the deal signed: the wars in Iran and
    Ukraine, which have disrupted global oil supplies and raised prices.
  * The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is now at a 40-year low
    <https://www.npr.org/2026/08/16/nx-s1-5930403/u-s-oil-reserves-hit-the-lowest-level-seen-in-over-40-years>.

*Zoom in*: Details are still being hammered out, but the discussions 
involve more than a dozen productive oil fields — not all of Venezuela's 
300 billion barrels of proven reserves.

  * The fields in question*, *which have 90 billion barrels of proven
    reserves, used to be controlled by former Venezuelan insiders —
    including some who've been indicted — as well as interests once
    controlled by China, the official said.
  * In return for giving the U.S. an ownership stake, Venezuela's
    government would benefit from private companies, including American
    firms, developing the fields and returning more oil revenue to that
    country.

*Zoom out*: The Venezuelan oil deal would be a legacy-defining moment 
for President Trump, who has made U.S. energy security and dominance in 
the Western Hemisphere pillars of his so-called "Donroe Doctrine."

  * "President Trump is close to securing America's energy future for
    generations to come, not just in the U.S. but in the hemisphere," a
    second official said.
  * Trump began privately discussing ways to have an ownership stake in
    Venezuelan oil fields even before he authorized the Jan. 3 capture
    of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, who faces narco-terrorism
    charges in New York.
  * Venezuela's oil sector fell into a relative state of disrepair
    because of the legacy of socialist mismanagement by Maduro and his
    predecessor, Hugo Chavez, after he took over in 1999.

*Behind the scenes*: The talks have been spearheaded by U.S. Secretary 
of State Marco Rubio and Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez.

  * Last month, top officials from the State and Defense departments met
    with their counterparts in Caracas to discuss more of the specifics.
  * Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is also playing a
    major role.
  * The administration is sensitive to accusations that Rodriguez would
    be giving away Venezuela's natural resources to the U.S., one
    official said, so "we're going out of our way to show how this will
    benefit the people of Venezuela, because it will."

*What's next:*The exact timing for finalizing the deal is unclear, but 
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been discussing plans to go to 
Venezuela next week as his department discusses ways to increase oil 
production by U.S. firms.

/Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say that the Venezuela 
oil fields in question have proven reserves of 90 billion barrels of 
oil, rather than that they produce 90 million barrels a day./



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