The US Moves to Control Venezuela’s Oil in a Deal That Could Reshape the Energy Map of the Americas

The United States has reached an agreement with Venezuela that would give the American side control over more than 65 billion barrels of the country’s oil reserves. President Donald Trump described the arrangement as “the largest oil deal in world history” and said it would more than double the United States’ oil reserves.

The agreement represents one of Washington’s most ambitious and unusual moves in global energy policy in decades. This is not simply about giving American companies access to new oil fields or increasing imports of Venezuelan crude. The deal would reportedly give the United States control over a significant share of reserves equivalent to roughly one-fifth of Venezuela’s proven oil resources.

That distinction matters. Washington is not merely looking for another source of supply. It is attempting to secure long-term influence over one of the largest concentrations of untapped oil resources in the world.

Oil becomes an instrument of American strategy

Trump has presented the agreement primarily as a victory for the American energy market. According to the US president, access to additional reserves could increase oil supplies and help reduce petrol prices in the United States.

Yet the geopolitical significance of the agreement may be far greater than its immediate effect on American petrol stations.

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but years of political instability, sanctions, chronic underinvestment and deteriorating infrastructure have prevented the country from fully exploiting its vast resource base. Enormous oil wealth has therefore remained a largely underdeveloped strategic asset.

For Washington, this creates a rare opportunity to gain influence not only over oil supplies, but also over the reconstruction of an entire energy sector.

The Venezuelan side has said that the agreement could involve the development of 17 strategic oil fields. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez has argued that the project could attract more than $100 billion in investment and potentially generate more than $209 billion in tax revenues for the Venezuelan state.

A new model linking government and private capital

One of the most important features of the agreement is its structure.

The full legal and commercial details have not yet been made public, but the deal is expected to involve cooperation between the United States, Venezuela and private companies. Reports suggest that a new company could be established to manage the oil assets, with the American side holding a controlling operational stake.

If implemented in this way, the agreement would represent an unusual model of American involvement in strategic energy assets outside US territory.

Washington is effectively attempting to convert political influence into a long-term presence in one of the world’s most strategically valuable oil sectors.

This goes beyond the traditional tools of sanctions, licensing or diplomatic pressure. The United States appears to be pursuing a model in which geopolitical influence, state strategy and private capital become increasingly interconnected.

Venezuela’s oil is valuable, but the benefits will not arrive quickly

The figure of 65 billion barrels is striking, but the agreement does not mean that the American market will suddenly be flooded with cheap Venezuelan oil.

Venezuela’s oil infrastructure requires major investment. Many oil fields, pipelines and processing facilities have operated with limited funding for years or have fallen into serious disrepair. Much of Venezuela’s crude is also heavy oil, making extraction and refining more technically demanding and expensive.

Even with substantial investment, a significant increase in production could take years.

That means the agreement is unlikely to have an immediate effect on global oil prices or petrol prices in the United States. The strategic value of the deal lies elsewhere.

Control over large reserves provides Washington with an asset for the future, particularly at a time when the stability of the global oil market is increasingly shaped by geopolitical crises.

Washington returns its focus to the Western Hemisphere

The agreement also reflects a broader shift in American thinking about energy security.

For decades, the United States has sought to reduce its dependence on politically unstable oil-producing regions, particularly the Middle East, while expanding domestic production. Venezuela now offers another possibility: a massive resource base located in the Western Hemisphere and geographically close to the United States.

For Washington, that combination is strategically attractive.

Venezuela possesses enormous reserves, while its proximity to the United States could make future supply chains easier to manage than those dependent on distant regions. If American companies and institutions gain long-term operational influence, Washington could potentially secure a new strategic pillar for its energy policy.

However, the same strategy also creates political risks.

Venezuela’s oil sector has long been central to the country’s concept of national sovereignty. Any arrangement that gives a foreign power significant control over strategic resources could become politically controversial inside the country.

The durability of the agreement may therefore depend not only on oil prices and investment, but also on Venezuela’s future political stability.

More than a record-breaking deal

Trump has described the agreement as the largest oil deal in history. For now, however, the political significance of the announcement is moving faster than the physical reality of the project.

Tens of billions of barrels of reserves must still be transformed into functioning oil fields, infrastructure, production capacity and export flows.

Yet the strategic scale of the agreement is already clear.

The United States could gain influence over one of the world’s largest oil resource bases. Venezuela could receive a pathway towards rebuilding its heavily damaged energy sector. American companies could gain access to assets that have remained too politically risky for large-scale investment for years.

If the agreement is implemented, its consequences could extend far beyond Venezuela’s economy.

It would signal a new approach to American energy security in which strategic reserves, political influence and private capital are increasingly difficult to separate.

The struggle over Venezuelan oil is therefore no longer simply a story about 65 billion barrels.