Venezuela says 25-year oil agreement with U.S. covers 17 fields and targets 1.5 million barrels per day
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The Facts
- Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez said the energy agreement with the United States will remain in force for 25 years.
- The agreement covers the development of 17 strategic oilfields, Rodriguez said.
- Rodriguez said the deal targets crude production of more than 1.5 million barrels per day.
- Caracas says the fields hold a proven potential of 65 billion barrels of oil.
- The Venezuelan government says the accord will bring more than $100 billion in investment.
- Rodriguez said state revenue under the agreement could reach about $209 billion, or roughly $19 per barrel.
- Rodriguez said Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its natural resources under the deal.
- Trump said the United States obtained majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan proven reserves.
- Trump described the arrangement as the biggest oil deal in world history.
- Venezuelan hardliners and opposition figures have criticized Rodriguez over the agreement, calling it a loss of sovereignty.
Context
What financial terms has Venezuela disclosed?
Rodriguez said eight new blocks in the Orinoco oil belt carry a minimum 16% royalty and a 34% corporate profit tax РИА Новости,Московский …,Malay Mail. She based the roughly $19-per-barrel state take on an assumed oil price of $65 per barrel, which she said could be higher or lower Azeri - Press Infor…,Московский …,Malay Mail. Under the arrangement Venezuela contributes reserves, existing infrastructure and labor, while the U.S. side provides capital and technology Azeri - Press Infor….
Why is the deal contested inside Venezuela?
Critics describe the agreement as an abdication of sovereignty because it gives the U.S. majority control over 65 billion barrels of crude, and it risks becoming a political liability for Rodriguez SCMP. Her televised address emphasizing that "Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its resources" was framed as reassurance to the public Deutsche Welle,Daily Sabah.
What comes next?
Rodriguez said 1.5 million barrels per day is only an initial target and that a broader plan includes developing eight new oil blocks NEWS.am. She said Caracas aims to sign further agreements with companies including Chevron, Repsol, Eni, Shell and BP Anadolu Ajansı,Anadolu Ajansı. Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth worked on the deal with Rodriguez and private-sector representatives Радио Sputn….
Where Left and Right agree, and where they split
- Where Left and Right agree
- Rodriguez's claim that Venezuela keeps ownership and Trump's claim of majority U.S. control over 65 billion barrels cannot both hold, and a 25-year term makes the ambiguity costly.
- Where Left and Right split
- Whether the story is about who really holds decision rights over Venezuela's fields, or about America tying its energy strength to oilfields sitting inside Caracas's politics.
- Why they won’t converge
- This is a values divide over where control of a resource should sit — with the host state or the buying power — and it survives the facts because the contract text is unpublished, letting "ownership retained" and "majority control" both stand.
How left and right read it
A country's control over its own oil is not a detail to be papered over with assurances. Rodriguez says Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty under a 25-year arrangement covering 17 fields, yet Trump describes the same deal as majority U.S. control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves — and those two claims cannot both be true. Twenty-five years is a long lock. Who holds the decision rights when they conflict?
American energy strength is supposed to be built at home, not staked for twenty-five years on another government's oilfields. Rodriguez frames it as more than $100 billion of investment across 17 fields chasing 1.5 million barrels a day while Venezuela keeps ownership of its resources, so the commitment sits inside Caracas's politics even as Trump claims majority control of the reserves. Produce it here instead.
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