# Trump Says the United States Has Taken Majority Control of 65 Billion Barrels of Venezuelan Oil

Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, said the arrangement covers 17 fields and would bring about $209 billion into the state treasury.

- Published: 2026-08-29T05:10:48.378Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-08-29/trump-says-the-united-states-has-taken-majority-control-of-6
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/29/trump-announces-biggest-oil-deal-in-world-history-with-venezuela), [Dawn](https://www.dawn.com/news/2025926/trump-says-us-is-taking-partial-control-of-venezuelas-vast-oil-reserves-but-offers-few-details-about-agreement), [Ynet](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sjrcviy00fg), [Jiji Press](https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2026082900202&g=int)

United States President Donald Trump said his government had reached what he called the biggest oil deal in world history, securing majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan reserves at no cost to American taxpayers, [Al Jazeera reported](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/29/trump-announces-biggest-oil-deal-in-world-history-with-venezuela). He said the transaction more than doubles American oil reserves and would lower fuel prices.

The two governments describe the same agreement differently. Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, presented it as a development contract covering 17 fields that would deliver roughly $209 billion to the Venezuelan state, according to [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/29/trump-announces-biggest-oil-deal-in-world-history-with-venezuela) and [Ynet](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sjrcviy00fg), which noted the announcement comes about eight months after American forces captured Nicolas Maduro. [Dawn reported](https://www.dawn.com/news/2025926/trump-says-us-is-taking-partial-control-of-venezuelas-vast-oil-reserves-but-offers-few-details-about-agreement) that Washington is taking control of about a fifth of the country's reserves and that Trump offered few details of the legal structure. Japan's [Jiji Press](https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2026082900202&g=int) also described the American claim as control over roughly 20 percent of Venezuelan crude.

Neither government has closed the gap between "majority control of 65 billion barrels" and "a fifth of reserves," and no contract text has been published. [NPR reported](https://www.npr.org/2026/08/28/nx-s1-5948229/trump-says-u-s-has-entered-deal-with-venezuela-to-take-control-of-65-billion-barrels-of-oil-reserves) that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth negotiated with Rodriguez over several weeks.

Reserves are not production. Venezuelan output has been constrained for years by damaged infrastructure, sanctions and the loss of skilled labor, and heavy Venezuelan crude requires specific refining capacity, most of it on the United States Gulf Coast.

## What this means

Washington is responding to constrained Gulf supply by acquiring long-dated barrels in its own hemisphere, which shifts where oil capital is deployed rather than adding crude to today's market. American refiners configured for heavy crude and the oilfield service firms that would rebuild Venezuelan capacity benefit first. The barrels arrive slowly, so the immediate effect on prices runs through expectations rather than physical supply, and the main risk to the arrangement is legal: Venezuela's reserves carry decades of competing claims from expropriated operators and bondholders.

## What to watch

- Publication of the actual contract terms. Whether American companies hold equity stakes, service contracts or offtake rights determines who bears the capital cost and who books the reserves.
- Venezuelan production data over the coming months. Volumes recover only if drilling, power and export terminals are repaired, and flat output would show the announcement changed ownership rather than supply.
- Responses from other holders of Venezuelan claims, including creditors and previously expropriated operators, whose lawsuits could attach to any crude shipped under the deal.