White House details Venezuela oil deal with NABEP

The White House on Monday outlined a sweeping plan to give the U.S. government a major stake in a private venture tied to Venezuelan oil, saying North American Blue Energy Partners will receive 100-year concessions to drill in 17 fields containing about 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.

The agreement would give the U.S. Defense Department a 35% stake in NABEP, a company led by Venezuelan executive Alejandro Betancourt. The State Department would have the right to buy 20% of the company’s output at the cost of production and the right of first refusal to purchase the rest, according to a White House fact sheet released late Monday.

The fields covered by the deal amount to roughly one-fifth of Venezuela’s total proven oil reserves. The White House said the arrangement would be carried out at “no cost to the American taxpayer” and declared: “This deal secures our energy dominance for the next century—all at zero cost to the United States.”

NABEP describes itself as Venezuela’s second-largest private oil producer, currently pumping more than 200,000 barrels per day. Al Jazeera reported that the company is the second-largest operator in Venezuela behind Chevron. NABEP said it aims to raise daily production in the near term to more than 1 million barrels. Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez, speaking over the weekend, said the goal is to produce more than 1.5 million barrels per day and described the arrangement as a 25-year deal.

Betancourt said in a statement that Venezuela is “blessed with an abundance of natural resources, hardworking people and untapped potential,” adding, “This transaction will unleash that potential to the great benefit of both Venezuelans and Americans.”

The White House said NABEP has developed a plan to invest up to $100 billion in new oil infrastructure in Venezuela. Al Jazeera reported that the agreement was signed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The White House also said many of the oil fields were previously controlled or operated by Russian and Chinese firms, or by people tied to former Venezuelan leaders Nicolás Maduro and Hugo Chavez.

President Trump has said the deal will bring more oil to the U.S. market, lower energy prices and help refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Al Jazeera reported that Trump said Venezuela’s heavy oil could also be used to produce asphalt and other goods. Asked Monday when gasoline prices might fall, Trump said “it could be a little bit” and pushed back on analyst estimates that the impact could take years. “If it was two years, you know, that’s a short period of time,” he said.

Some analysts and oil industry experts are skeptical that the agreement will quickly lower prices. They say Venezuela’s energy infrastructure needs rebuilding and that its oil is typically heavy and sour, making it harder to refine than the light, sweet crude commonly found in the United States.

The deal has also drawn political opposition. Some opponents of Rodriguez have called it an “asset grab” and questioned the legal basis for giving the U.S. government a stake in a large share of Venezuela’s oil reserves. Rodriguez has called the deal a “historic agreement” that will bring private investment and hundreds of billions in tax revenue, while saying Venezuela will retain control over its natural resources.

Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, called the Pentagon stake “a blatant abuse of power and taxpayer dollars.” Reed said Trump “has been explicit about his desire to extract Venezuela’s oil,” adding that the administration removed Maduro from power, backed the leadership that replaced him and is now trying “to use U.S. military assets and taxpayer-backed financing to boost a private oil venture.”