Trump administration eyeing stake in Venezuelan oil fields? Here's what we know

The Trump administration is exploring a potentially sweeping expansion of US control over Venezuela’s oil industry, with reports suggesting Washington is seeking long-term access or direct stakes in oilfields holding as much as 90 billion barrels of proven reserves.

The discussions, reported by several US media outlets, come months after President Donald Trump’s administration abducted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January and assumed a dominant role in steering the country’s affairs.

A deal would represent a dramatic expansion of US influence over Venezuela’s energy sector and could reshape global oil flows at a time when geopolitical tensions have already disrupted markets.

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at about 303 billion barrels.

That compares with roughly 268 billion barrels in Saudi Arabia and 208 billion barrels in Iran.

A US ownership stake in fields containing 90 billion barrels would therefore give Washington access to almost one-third of Venezuela’s proven reserves.

US reportedly seeks direct stake in Venezuelan oilfields

The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Trump administration officials were in “advanced talks” with Venezuelan officials over a potential direct stake in more than a dozen oilfields.

“This is real and being discussed at the highest levels of the US and Venezuelan governments,” a source then told Reuters.

The fields under discussion are located in Venezuela’s Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo regions, according to Reuters.

Axios, citing a US official, reported that the negotiations involve more than a dozen productive fields rather than the entirety of Venezuela’s vast reserves.

The fields contain about 90 billion barrels of proven reserves and were previously controlled by Venezuelan insiders, including some who have been indicted, as well as interests that were once controlled by China, according to the official cited by Axios.

Under the potential arrangement, Venezuela would receive greater oil revenues as private companies, including US firms, invest in and develop the fields.

Bloomberg has separately reported that one proposal under consideration involves a 100-year lease covering several oilfields.

The length of such an arrangement would underscore the extraordinary scale of the proposed US involvement in Venezuela’s energy industry.

Separately, The Wall Street Journal also reported on Friday that Chevron Corporation is among the leading American companies preparing to commit billions of dollars to Venezuelan oil production.

The energy major is nearing a deal that could expand its operations to two additional oilfields, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Halliburton Company is also looking to expand its Venezuelan operations, according to people familiar with the situation, WSJ reported.

Venezuela could boost US energy security

The proposed arrangements come at a particularly sensitive time for global energy markets.

The US is facing intense market volatility linked to the war in Iran and Tehran’s efforts to disrupt commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Greater access to Venezuelan crude could provide Washington with another source of oil and potentially reduce its exposure to supply disruptions elsewhere.

The scale of Venezuela’s reserves makes the opportunity particularly significant.

A potential deal involving 90 billion barrels would not merely provide additional production capacity; it could effectively give the US greater influence over a substantial portion of the world's largest proven oil reserve base.

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is also at a 40-year low.

The Trump administration has previously promised to control sales of Venezuelan crude and hold proceeds in US bank accounts.

Since Maduro’s capture, Washington has eased sanctions to allow US companies and oilfield contractors to return to Venezuela.

The US has not disclosed how much revenue it has generated from Venezuelan oil sales so far.

A new version of the Monroe Doctrine

The negotiations are being spearheaded by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, according to Axios.

The reported strategy fits into Trump's broader foreign-policy approach toward the Western Hemisphere, often described as the “Donroe Doctrine”, a play on the Monroe Doctrine that traditionally asserted US influence over the Americas.

Axios described a potential agreement as “a legacy-defining moment for President Trump”, with one unnamed US official telling the publication: “Calling this deal huge would be an understatement … It is massive.”

For Washington, controlling access to Venezuelan oil could also have a strategic dimension beyond energy.

Venezuela has historically maintained close economic relationships with China and Russia.

Increasing US control over its oil industry could therefore reduce the influence of those countries over one of the world's largest hydrocarbon reserves.

Venezuelan opposition raises concerns

The prospect of Washington taking a direct stake in Venezuelan oilfields has already generated anger among parts of the country's opposition.

Critics argue that Trump’s intervention was supposed to bring about meaningful political change, but that the focus now appears to be shifting toward securing access to Venezuela’s natural resources.

“It’s a land grab – a massive land grab,” said one Venezuelan opposition figure who asked not to be named because of the sensitivities involved, according to The Guardian.

“It’s revolting because this is not the United States one would have [expected]. This is not the United States of the Marshall plan. This is a rapacious, mafioso United States,” they added.

Analysts warn of colonial echoes

Gregory Brew, an energy historian and Eurasia Group analyst, expects significant resistance to any agreement that gives Washington effective control over Venezuelan oil.

He compared the reported proposal with historic arrangements in which Western oil companies gained extensive rights over Middle Eastern resources.

“Anglo-Persian was given a concession by the shah of Iran in 1901 … in exchange for what was essentially a bribe to the Persian government, and it gave the company sweeping rights. The company was essentially in total control of any oil it found and would be able to retain virtually all the profits of any other oil it found and exploited and exported,” Brew said in The Guardian report.

He expects “quite a lot of suspicion and rejection of any deal that would hand the United States government effective control over Venezuelan resources”.

Brew also argued that Washington's motivation extends beyond simply increasing oil supplies.

“From Trump’s point of view, the control over oil is something of an end in and of itself,. But if you do try to rationalise it, I think US dominance over Venezuelan oil reserves allows the US to regard Venezuelan reserves as its own reserves: a source of oil from which the United States can draw and that nobody else has access to. I think that’s how the administration is conceiving of this – excluding China, excluding Russia, but I think also excluding other potential customers for Venezuelan oil,” he said.

“It sounds colonial, because it is.”