US-Venezuela Oil Deal Sparks Skepticism Over Gas Price Impact

The Trump administration has announced an agreement with Venezuela's government to develop the country's vast oil reserves. The U.S. would get 55% of the oil from a joint venture, equivalent to about 65 billion barrels under the ground.

However, energy experts are skeptical about the deal's potential impact on gas prices in the U.S. Paasha Mahdavi, associate professor at UC Santa Barbara, says that 'at cost' deals like this can be unattractive to oil companies because they don't allow them to capture excess profits.

Gerald Kepes, president of Competitive Energy Strategies, also expressed concerns about the deal's legitimacy due to its involvement with the acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was not elected. He expects oil companies will have questions about the deal's long-term viability.