U.S. Secures Majority Control Over Venezuelan Oil Reserves

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Aug. 28 that the United States had secured majority control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves through an agreement negotiated with Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez. The agreement was negotiated by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Rodríguez, according to the research packet.

The agreement is intended to replenish U.S. national strategic reserves, which the research says are at their lowest level in four decades. The packet does not provide further details about the structure of the arrangement, the distribution of control or the timetable for implementing it.

The announcement places Venezuela’s oil reserves at the center of a new agreement between Washington and Caracas. The research packet identifies the reserves covered by the deal as totaling 65 billion barrels, but does not specify how the figure was calculated or whether it refers to proved, recoverable or estimated resources.

The deal has drawn criticism from Venezuelan hard-liners and opposition forces. Their concerns focus on the implications for Venezuela’s sovereignty and economic future, according to the research. The packet does not identify individual critics or provide statements from either group.

The agreement comes as the United States seeks to replenish its strategic reserves. The research does not state how much oil would be transferred to those reserves, how Venezuelan authorities would be compensated or what role Venezuelan institutions would retain in managing the country’s oil resources.

The research packet contains no information about reactions from other governments, the agreement’s legal status beyond its announcement, or its potential effect on Venezuela’s oil production. It also does not provide details on whether the arrangement has received approval from Venezuelan legislative or judicial authorities.