Remarkable US oil deal puzzles analysts - and angers many Venezuelans
Amounting to 65 billion barrels of crude, the deal is labelled by one ex-envoy as a colonialist "fever dream".
The signing of a substantial US-Venezuela oil deal in Caracas this week reveals a major shift in the geopolitical center of global energy markets away from Middle Eastern choke points. The agreement grants a US-led company, North American Blue Energy Partners, 100-year concessions over 17 Venezuelan oilfields, encompassing a staggering 65 billion barrels of crude – more than a fifth of the country's proven oil reserves.
President Trump hailed the deal as "the biggest oil deal in world history," while the interim Venezuelan President, Delcy Rodríguez, claimed it would generate $100bn in investment and $200bn in tax revenue. However, critics, including Trump's former special representative on Venezuela and Iran, Elliott Abrams, argue the deal is deeply problematic and a one-sided agreement that resembles colonialism.
The US government will have veto power over Nabep's board of directors, and a majority of the board must be US citizens. Energy experts warn that the deal's timeframe is overly optimistic, and a decade is a more realistic estimate for regaining Venezuela's pre-COVID oil production levels. The opposition accuses the Trump administration of aligning with an oppressive regime, while socialists view it as capitulation to the United States.
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