Remarkable US Oil Deal Puzzles Analysts – and Angers Many Venezuelans
BBC News reports on a surprising development: a US oil deal with Venezuela that has left analysts perplexed and Venezuelans outraged.
By Will Grant, BBC’s Mexico, Central America, and Cuba Correspondent
Published 26 minutes ago
Since US troops removed Nicolás Maduro from power in January, President Donald Trump expressed his intention to seize control of Venezuela’s oil resources. This goal materialized with a massive oil deal signed in Caracas on Wednesday. The agreement grants a US-led company a 100-year concession over 17 Venezuelan oil fields, containing an astonishing 65 billion barrels of crude—a fifth of the country’s proven reserves.
Both Trump and interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez celebrated the deal as triumphant for their respective nations. Trump hailed it as "the biggest oil deal in world history," while Rodríguez described it as "historic." The agreement is projected to bring in $100 billion in investment and over $200 billion in tax revenue, according to Rodríguez.
However, not all were convinced by the deal’s purported benefits.
"This is a terrible deal," said Elliott Abrams, Trump’s former special representative on Venezuela and Iran. He accused Rodríguez of simply acceding to US demands.
The White House fact sheet revealed details of the partnership between the US government and North American Blue Energy Partners (Nabep), Venezuela’s second-largest private oil producer after Chevron. An intriguing aspect is that the US will have veto power over Nabep’s board appointments, with a majority of directors required to be US citizens.
Supporters, including Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, argue that this deal shifts global energy markets away from Middle Eastern "choke points" to the Western Hemisphere. However, Elliott Abrams characterized the terms as "a kind of fever dream of what colonialism looks like."
The White House framed the agreement as a revival of the Monroe Doctrine, asserting US dominance in South America. Despite claims of mutual benefit, the deal presents challenges and unanswered questions regarding its long-term implications.
