{
  "id": 4247531,
  "title": "The U.S. doesn’t have a state-owned oil giant. But in Venezuela, the federal government will control a company with the world’s 2nd largest reserves",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/the-u-s-doesnt-have-a-state-owned-oil-giant-but-in-venezuela-the",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-29T17:31:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/08/29/us-state-owned-oil-giant-venezuela-second-largest-reserves-trump/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The United States does not possess a national oil company, despite being the world's largest producer of crude. This stands in contrast to many other major oil-producing nations, which have state-owned entities like Saudi Arabia's Aramco or Russia's Rosneft. In a recent deal, however, the U.S. government has taken a substantial stake in Venezuela's oil industry, granting it control over a company with the world's second-largest reserves.\n\nVenezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, has granted a private firm a 100-year lease on key oil fields, with the federal government retaining a 55% stake in the company's output. The private operator will have the remaining 45%. According to a U.S. official, the company will rank as the world's second-largest holder of proven reserves, behind Saudi Aramco.\n\nThe deal is expected to attract over $100 billion in investment and yield $209 billion for Venezuela's government, given the country's estimated 303 billion barrels of oil reserves. President Donald Trump's investment surpasses the U.S. proven reserves total of 46 billion barrels. The U.S. administration's majority ownership follows its investments in various tech and mining firms, as well as revenue-sharing agreements with tech giants Nvidia and AMD.\n\nThe latest deal arose nearly nine months after Trump's military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and bring him to the U.S. for trial on narcoterrorism charges. Shortly after, the U.S. and Israel waged a war on Iran, causing a significant energy supply shock and prompting countries to draw down crude stockpiles. The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, already at a record low, will benefit from the increased output from Venezuela's oil company.\n\nDespite the country's oil sector being in disarray for decades, with production currently at 1.1 million barrels per day, the U.S. official indicated that the boosted output from the new venture would help replenish the SPR. However, restoring production to its former levels of 3.5 million barrels per day would require billions of dollars in investment and years before it becomes viable.\n\nGlobal oil giants, with the financial resources to invest in Venezuela's sector, are showing interest, with Chevron reportedly close to an expansion deal and Halliburton in talks to provide equipment. Italian oil company Eni has also announced plans to collaborate with Venezuelan authorities to revitalize the energy sector. Nonetheless, many aspects of the U.S. deal remain uncertain, and energy experts remain skeptical about the potential scale of investment.",
  "summary": "The federal government will control 55% of the company's effective output via equity ownership and oil production.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn Business",
        "title": "Trump says US is taking partial control of Venezuela's vast oil reserves, but offers few details about agreement",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/trump-says-us-is-taking-partial-control-of-venezuelas-vast-oil-4111664",
        "published": "2026-08-29T04:50:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}