US nears deal for long-term access to Venezuela’s oil reserves

The Trump administration is closing in on what would be one of the most consequential energy agreements in decades: long-term access to a massive chunk of Venezuela’s oil reserves. The deal under negotiation covers approximately 17 oil fields, primarily in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo region, holding an estimated 90 billion barrels of proven reserves. To put that number in perspective, Venezuela sits atop roughly 300 billion barrels of total proven reserves, the largest in the world. The US would be locking down nearly a third of them. The terms taking shape The proposed agreement reportedly follows a lease model that could extend up to 100 years, with American companies guaranteed the output from the fields. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been leading the US side of negotiations, with Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez serving as his counterpart. The groundwork for this deal traces back to the ouster of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026, which opened a window for diplomatic and commercial re-engagement between Washington and Caracas. Under the interim government, Venezuela’s oil production has climbed by roughly 300,000 barrels per day, bringing total output to ar...