Trump Administration Secures Stake in Venezuela Oil Reserves

The Trump administration has announced a deal to tap into Venezuela's oil reserves, giving the U.S. a stake in roughly a fifth of the country's vast oil reserves.

The agreement involves North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), which will create a private company as a joint venture with the U.S. government. NABEP is owned by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt and is already the second-largest operator in Venezuela, behind Chevron.

Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez has given the company 100-year rights over 17 oil fields with proven reserves of 65 billion barrels. Many of those fields were previously owned by Russian or Chinese firms, the White House said.

The deal will give the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital a 35% ownership stake in the company, and the U.S. will also be guaranteed a right to purchase 20% of the output at cost. Betancourt has agreed to put up $100 billion in new oil infrastructure investments.