Trump announces biggest oil deal in world history with Venezuela

The United States just locked down what President Trump is calling the largest oil agreement ever struck. Announced on August 28, the deal hands the US majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves spread across 17 Venezuelan fields, roughly 25% of the country’s total reserves.

To put that volume in perspective, 65 billion barrels is more than the entire proven reserves of Kuwait or the UAE. And the US didn’t buy them outright. Instead, it secured approximately 55% effective output through a new private joint venture, structured with 100-year concessions for field development.

What the deal actually looks like

The joint venture, once operational, would rank among the largest private oil companies on the planet by reserves alone. The yet-to-be-named operator is tied to Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt López, and the structure is designed so that US refineries and military operations receive Venezuelan crude at cost, with no direct expense to American taxpayers.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth were central to the negotiations. The deal promises more than $100 billion in private investment flowing into Venezuela’s battered oil infrastructure, with Caracas projected to collect an estimated $209 billion in tax revenue over the life of the concessions.

Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez has publicly backed the agreement.

Trump, characteristically understated, described it as “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY.”

Why Venezuela’s oil has been stranded

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves. The country’s oil production has cratered from over 3 million barrels per day at its peak to approximately 1.25 million barrels per day currently.

The political landscape shifted dramatically in January 2026 with the capture of Nicolás Maduro. Rodríguez’s interim government has since signaled openness to foreign investment, and this deal represents the most concrete outcome of that pivot.

The geopolitical calculus

For the US military, securing Venezuelan crude at cost creates a reliable Western Hemisphere supply line. Venezuela sits a three-day tanker ride from the Gulf Coast.

For American consumers, the administration is projecting potential reductions in gas prices. Venezuela’s current 1.25 million barrels per day is a fraction of its capacity. The administration says the deal will create thousands of jobs spanning both countries, though the split between US and Venezuelan employment remains unclear.

No formal text of the agreement has been released yet, which means the fine print on revenue sharing, environmental standards, labor requirements, and dispute resolution remains unknown. The 100-year concession length alone will invite scrutiny: that is longer than most countries have existed in their current form, and it effectively locks in terms across multiple future administrations on both sides.