US energy secretary vows oil output will double on visit to Venezuela

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright visited Venezuela for a signing ceremony of a landmark oil deal between the US government and Venezuela. The deal involves creating a private company that will hold 65 billion barrels in proven oil reserves, with the US having majority ownership.

The agreement aims to encourage other US energy firms to invest in Venezuela despite challenges. According to the Qatar Tribune Business, the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at its lowest level since November 1982. The new public-private joint venture's produced oil will be used to fill up the reserve.

The deal, described by the White House as the "biggest oil deal in world history," involves the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital acquiring up to a 35 percent equity stake in a company that owns North American Blue Energy Partners, the second-largest private oil producer in Venezuela. NABEP plans to invest $100 billion in new infrastructure.

Brief written by urgent.news from France 24 Business, Qatar Tribune Business — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.