Trump announces ‘biggest oil deal in world history’ with Venezuela

What the report says

U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States had reached a deal with Venezuela that would give American interests majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of the South American country’s proven oil reserves. In a social-media post, Trump described the arrangement as a major transaction that would expand U.S. oil holdings and help reduce gasoline prices, according to Al Jazeera’s report.

Al Jazeera reported that Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, welcomed the deal. The agreement is said to follow weeks of negotiations and would open the way for American companies to gain long-term access to a group of Venezuelan oilfields, with the crude produced there expected to be supplied to the U.S. The report said Venezuelan officials were preparing to sign related agreements the following week.

The article noted that the structure of the deal was not disclosed, including which fields or companies would be involved or how U.S. control would be exercised. It also said the plan could face legal and constitutional questions in Venezuela, where the state keeps control over core oil industry activities. In broader context, Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves but has struggled for years with weak output because of underinvestment, mismanagement and sanctions.