US Takes Control of Venezuela's Oil Industry with $100 Billion Deal

The US government has taken control of Venezuela's oil industry by signing a deal with North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) to develop 17 oil fields with proven reserves of about 65 billion barrels. The agreement gives NABEP rights to operate these fields for 100 years, and the US government will have a stake in the company and broad rights to buy its crude.

The deal is worth billions, with NABEP planning to invest up to $100 billion in new infrastructure and boost production from its operations in the Lake Maracaibo and Orinoco Belt regions. The US government's Office of Strategic Capital will take a 35% equity stake in NABEP's corporate parent, which could represent hundreds of billions of dollars in value and dividends.

The deal has been criticized by some as a form of colonialism, with Venezuela effectively becoming a protectorate of the US. Francisco Rodriguez, a Venezuelan economist and professor at the University of Denver, said that 'Venezuela is functioning as a protectorate of the US in all but name'. However, a State Department official rejected this idea, saying that the move would benefit the country's people while disadvantaging US geopolitical foes Russia and China.