The Trump administration is negotiating with Venezuela’s interim government over a potential U.S. ownership stake in more than a dozen producing oil fields, a deal that could substantially expand American access to crude reserves as global supply pressures intensify.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Trump administration is discussing an unprecedented energy agreement with Venezuela’s interim government that could give the United States an ownership stake in more than a dozen producing oil fields, potentially expanding U.S. access to some of the largest petroleum reserves in the world.
The negotiations, reported Thursday by Axios, involve productive Venezuelan fields rather than the country’s entire reserve base, according to two U.S. officials cited in the report.
Venezuela possesses roughly 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, the largest amount held by any country in the world.
“Calling this deal huge would be an understatement,” one of the officials told Axios. “It is massive.”
Under the proposal being discussed, Washington would obtain an ownership interest in designated Venezuelan oil fields while private-sector companies, including American firms, would be brought in to develop the properties.
Venezuela would in turn receive increased oil revenue as production and investment expand under the arrangement, according to the report.
The talks remain unfinished, and no timetable has been established for reaching a final agreement.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright has discussed traveling to Venezuela as early as next week while negotiations continue.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez have been leading the discussions, according to the officials, with deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller also playing a substantial role.
Senior officials from the State Department and War Department met with Venezuelan representatives in Caracas last month to work through details of the potential agreement.
The fields under consideration include assets that were previously controlled by former Venezuelan insiders, some of whom are under indictment, as well as interests that had once been held by China, one U.S. official said.
The political presentation of the agreement inside Venezuela has become an important part of the negotiations.
Administration officials are aware that Rodríguez could face accusations that her government is transferring control of Venezuela’s natural resources to Washington.
“We’re going out of our way to show how this will benefit the people of Venezuela, because it will,” one official told Axios.
The discussions are taking place as the administration confronts growing pressure over energy supplies.
Wars in Iran and Ukraine have disrupted international oil markets and contributed to higher prices, increasing the importance of securing additional sources of crude.
At the same time, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve dropped below 300 million barrels this month, reaching its lowest level since late 1982.
Those conditions have added urgency to negotiations that could significantly alter the energy relationship between the United States and Venezuela.
For President Donald Trump, an agreement would also fit into a broader second-term strategy centered on American energy security and greater U.S. influence throughout the Western Hemisphere.
That policy has been widely described as the “Donroe Doctrine,” reflecting the administration’s emphasis on asserting U.S. economic and strategic dominance across the region.
“President Trump is close to securing America’s energy future for generations to come, not just in the U.S. but in the hemisphere,” a second U.S. official told Axios.
The discussions over Venezuelan oil predate the removal of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
According to the report, Trump privately considered ways for the United States to obtain a stake in Venezuelan oil fields before authorizing the Jan. 3 operation that resulted in Maduro’s capture.
Maduro now faces narco-terrorism charges in New York.
Any agreement would involve an oil sector that has undergone years of deterioration.
Venezuela’s petroleum industry declined significantly during more than two decades under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, who came to power in 1999.
Despite that deterioration, the country continues to hold an estimated 300 billion barrels of proven reserves, leaving enormous quantities of crude underground even as production capacity has weakened.
The proposed arrangement would seek to combine U.S. ownership interests with private investment capable of restoring or expanding output from selected fields.
For Venezuela’s interim government, the potential benefit would come through increased development and a larger share of oil revenues flowing back into the country.
For Washington, the stakes are considerably broader.
A U.S. ownership position in productive Venezuelan fields could increase American access to oil at a time when conflicts in Iran and Ukraine are straining supplies, while also strengthening U.S. influence over strategic energy assets in the Western Hemisphere.
The scale of the agreement remains subject to negotiation, including the precise fields involved, ownership terms and timing.
But with Wright considering a visit to Venezuela and senior officials on both sides already engaged in direct talks, the discussions represent one of the Trump administration’s most consequential attempts to reshape U.S. energy policy through direct participation in foreign oil assets.
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