The Wall Street Journal revealed that US President Donald Trump is moving to acquire Venezuelan oil in an unprecedented way, through the deal he announced with Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, which gives the United States rights to 65 billion barrels of the country’s oil reserves.
The newspaper pointed out that the agreement does not appear to be a normal commercial deal, given the scarcity of official details regarding it, explaining that Washington will obtain a 35% stake in a private company run by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, who is close to Rodriguez.
According to the report, North American Blue Energy Partners will be able to develop oil and gas reserves worth $65 billion, while the United States will obtain preferential rights to 20% of the company’s production at the cost of production.
The newspaper pointed out that the American investor in the deal will be the US Department of Defense, which will structure the investment through bonds convertible into shares, allowing the Pentagon to obtain a share in the capital without using taxpayer money.
However, the legal basis for this investment remains unclear, given the entry of the Ministry of Defense into a foreign entity. The newspaper asked whether the Pentagon’s Strategic Capital Office is entitled to shares of this type.
She also questioned the reasons for the Pentagon’s intervention in global oil markets, at a time when it has enough tasks related to purchasing scarce new weapons and reforming the defective procurement system, noting that the global oil market, despite suffering from the repercussions of the war on Iran, is still generally able to achieve a balance between supply and demand.
On the other hand, Trump wrote on his platform, “Truth Social,” that the deal with Rodriguez would more than double US oil reserves, raise oil supplies significantly, and lead to significantly lower gasoline prices for all Americans for a long period.
He added that he would use Venezuelan oil to refill the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was depleted extensively during his reign and the reign of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Venezuela currently produces only about 1.1 million barrels of oil per day, at a time when the Americas are witnessing an influx of investments in deep-water wells in Guyana, in addition to new investments in the Argentine shale oil sector.
She explained that raising Venezuelan production to normal levels would take years, wondering who would finance production operations and which companies would be willing to invest in oil extraction.
She pointed out that Trump calls on American oil companies to invest in Venezuela, but most observers believe that the government has not yet provided adequate legal or contractual protection for these investments.
The newspaper confirmed that the political dimensions of the deal appear to be more complex, considering that the US government is actually establishing an alliance with what it described as “its favorite foreign dictator and capitalist,” and that any foreign company that enters into this investment will deal with the three parties as de facto partners.
She pointed out that Trump will leave office in 2029, while the hard-line American role may not be accepted in the long term in Caracas.
The newspaper believed that the deal would support Rodriguez, at least in the near term, considering that this may be part of Trump’s motives, after she sought to win his favor to remain in power and avoid the opposition’s demands to hold new elections.
Rodriguez announced, on Sunday, that the energy agreement concluded with the United States will remain in effect for 25 years, explaining that it aims to increase crude oil production and develop the sector, while fully maintaining Venezuela’s ownership and sovereignty over its natural resources.
On the other hand, the agreement faces objections from the Venezuelan opposition and Rodriguez’s leftist allies alike. The Bolivarian left sees it as a concession to North American imperialism, amid expectations that this nationalist card will be used in the event of new elections.
As for the opposition, it believes that the deal was issued by an illegitimate president who has no right to hand over state resources to a “commercial ally” and a foreign government. It also fears that it will reduce the possibility of pushing Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, toward holding new elections.
The Wall Street Journal concluded that the deal represents a new example of the Trump administration expanding the scope of its growing patronage beyond the borders of the United States.
