Trump Announces US Control Over 65 Billion Barrels of Venezuelan Oil Reserves

Trump had discussed bringing US oil companies back to Venezuela shortly after Maduro was removed.

US President Donald Trump on Friday announced what he described as an agreement with Venezuela that would give the US control over 65 billion barrels of the South American country's oil reserves. Trump said the deal was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez. He announced the agreement in a social media post. “The United States of America has just entered into an Agreement with the Country of Venezuela on, THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY!” Trump wrote. The announcement comes almost nine months after the US military, acting on Trump's orders, carried out an operation to capture Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro was taken to the US to face federal charges related to narcoterrorism and drug trafficking. The oil agreement also comes at a difficult time for Trump domestically, with high petrol prices putting pressure on his administration. The war in Iran has now reached its six-month mark with no clear end in sight, adding to concerns over energy supplies. The US has already been using its strategic petroleum reserves to help deal with energy pressures. The stockpile fell below 300 million barrels in early August, a drop of more than 100 million barrels since the beginning of 2026. Trump had discussed bringing US oil companies back to Venezuela shortly after Maduro was removed from power in January. He has also accused Venezuela of taking US oil after former President Hugo Chávez nationalised hundreds of foreign-owned assets, including those belonging to American oil companies. Venezuela has an estimated 303 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, making it one of the world's largest holders of oil. According to the US Energy Information Administration, this represents around 17% of global oil reserves. Much of Venezuela's oil is already mapped and known, meaning companies do not have to search extensively for new deposits. However, the country has struggled to turn those reserves into production because its oil infrastructure has deteriorated badly. As a result, Venezuela currently produces only around 1% of the world's oil despite holding such a large share of global reserves.