MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The US will control 55% of output from the new oil company in Venezuela

“We have secured majority US control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American taxpayer,” Trump wrote

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday an agreement with Venezuela's interim government granting Washington majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan crude reserves, around 21% of the country's total. Acting president Delcy Rodríguez confirmed the deal.

 According to a US official who asked not to be identified, the arrangement is structured through a joint venture between the US government and a private operator based in Venezuela whose identity has not been disclosed. Rodríguez granted that company 100-year concessions over fields containing some 63 billion barrels. Washington will control 55% of effective output, split between an equity stake and the right to buy crude at cost. The same official described the new company as the world's second-largest corporate holder of proven reserves, after Saudi Arabia's Aramco.

“We have secured majority US control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American taxpayer,” Trump wrote on his social network, adding that the transaction “more than doubles American oil reserves.” US proven crude reserves stand at around 48 billion barrels, though the reserves being added lie in Venezuelan territory and are controlled through a corporate stake.

The Venezuelan government's statement puts the deal at the development of 17 strategic fields, with investment exceeding 100 billion dollars and more than 209 billion in taxes for the state. Rodríguez said the aim is “to consolidate our position as an energy-producing power, putting our immense reserves at the service of national development.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who negotiated the agreement alongside Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, called it a victory for both sides. According to The Wall Street Journal, Chevron and the services provider Halliburton are involved so far.

The announcement comes two months before the US midterm elections, with the average price of petrol above four dollars a gallon and the country's strategic reserves at their lowest level since the early 1980s, after six months of war with Iran that have disrupted a fifth of the world's crude supply.

The deal comes almost nine months after US forces captured then president Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and transferred him to New York, where he awaits trial on drug trafficking charges. Rodríguez assumed the acting presidency and in January enacted a reform allowing private companies to manage extraction. The US Treasury subsequently eased sanctions on the sector.

Venezuela's annual inflation runs at around 600% and the minimum monthly income, some 240 dollars, covers less than half of a basic basket costing more than 500.