Trump administration negotiating direct US ownership stake in Venezuelan oil fields

The Trump administration is in active negotiations with Venezuela to secure a direct US ownership stake in more than a dozen of the country’s most productive oil fields. If the arrangement goes through, it would represent one of the most aggressive energy plays by a US government in modern history, effectively doubling America’s proven oil reserves at a time when the Strategic Petroleum Reserve sits at its lowest level in four decades. The targeted fields contain approximately 90 billion barrels of proven reserves. To put that in perspective, Venezuela sits atop more than 300 billion barrels total, making it the world’s largest holder of proven oil reserves. Who’s at the table US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is leading the American side of the discussions, while Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodríguez represents the Venezuelan government. The two sides held informal talks in Caracas last month, laying the groundwork for what could become a formal framework agreement. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has a planned visit to Caracas aimed at working through the logistics of the arrangement. The structure under discussion would allow private companies, primarily American firms, to...