Trump Secures Control of Billions in Venezuelan Oil Reserves

US President Donald Trump announced on Friday that the country has reached a historic oil deal with Venezuela, which will give the US majority control of over 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in the Caribbean nation. The deal was negotiated by the Defense Department and State Department.

The agreement grants private Venezuelan company a 100-year lease for oil fields totaling 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, with the US having a 55% share in a joint venture with the private company. This creates the second-largest private oil company by reserves in the world, according to a US official.

Trump claimed that the deal will substantially lower gas prices for Americans long into the future and provide a significant increase in oil production with the participation of private operators. The US will also have access to at-cost oil produced from this company, which will help fill the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and benefit the US military.

Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez hailed the agreement as a historic milestone in relations between the two countries and said it would usher in a new era of recovery, growth, production, security, and prosperity for Venezuelans.