Aiming at Venezuela's 90 million barrel oil field reserves! The United States is reportedly close to reaching a "large-scale" agreement

The United States is further expanding its control over Venezuela's oil resources.

According to a report by Axios on Thursday the 27th, Eastern Time, the Trump administration is negotiating a "large-scale" agreement with Venezuela's interim government, under which the United States may acquire partial ownership of several of Venezuela's oil fields. Two U.S. officials revealed that the negotiations involve more than a dozen currently producing oil fields, with total reserves of about 90 million barrels. If the agreement is finalized, the size of U.S. oil reserves could more than double.

Axios noted that this would be a significant step by the United States to expand its presence in Venezuela's oil industry. The Trump administration intends to further boost Venezuela's oil production by introducing U.S. energy companies and capital, while also strengthening U.S. influence in the Western Hemisphere energy sector.

The specific terms of the agreement are still under negotiation, with the final timeline yet to be determined. Secretary of State Rubio and Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez are leading the related talks, while U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to visit Venezuela next week.

Over a dozen oil fields enter negotiations, the U.S. seeks partial ownership

Axios reported that the negotiations do not cover Venezuela's entire 300 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, but focus on more than a dozen already producing fields, together holding about 90 million barrels in reserves.

The core idea of the agreement is for the U.S. to acquire partial ownership of these oil fields and for U.S. energy companies to participate in their further development, driving greater recovery in output.

For the United States, the main attraction of this potential deal lies in Venezuela's vast oil resources. Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world, but due to years of underinvestment and oil sector infrastructure issues, its actual production has long been far below what its resources could support.

Axios stated that if the agreement is ultimately reached, U.S. oil reserves will more than double. For the Trump administration, this means not only that U.S. energy companies could acquire new overseas assets but also that Washington could further involve itself in the energy sector of one of the world's largest oil reserve countries.

Trump's long-term planning, Rubio leads the negotiations

Axios noted that Trump had already privately discussed how to acquire ownership of Venezuela's oil resources even before the U.S. military took Venezuela's former President Maduro into custody this January.

Currently, these negotiations are mainly being led by Secretary of State Rubio and Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodríguez.

This demonstrates that the Trump administration's layout regarding Venezuela's oil resources is not a recent development but has evolved from early political and security interventions to the level of energy assets.

Axios considers this potential agreement an important component of Trump's "Donroe Doctrine." The Trump administration is seeking to integrate energy security and U.S. energy dominance in the Western Hemisphere into the core of its Latin America policy framework.

From “selling oil to the U.S.” to direct U.S. participation in development, energy ties upgraded further

If the agreement is finalized, U.S.-Venezuelan energy relations will extend from crude oil trade to include oil field equity and production development.

Last week, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy Haustveit said that about half of Venezuela's current crude oil production flows to U.S. refineries. The Venezuelan side estimated that crude oil output would reach 1.245 million barrels/day by the end of August, with exports up 19.7% this year.

The United States has already become a major buyer of Venezuelan crude oil, and this potential agreement means that U.S. energy companies could further become direct participants in Venezuelan oil fields.

The U.S. is also helping Venezuela boost production. Haustveit previously revealed that the U.S. is sending over 100,000 barrels/day of naphtha to Venezuela to mix with the country’s heavier crude, thus helping to increase crude production and export capacity.

Therefore, from recent crude procurement and production support to this oil field equity pursuit, energy relations between the U.S. and Venezuela are undergoing visible changes.

U.S. Energy Secretary to visit Venezuela next week, agreement still pending

Axios reported that Energy Secretary Wright plans to visit Venezuela next week. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Energy is studying how to further boost the oil output of U.S. energy companies in Venezuela.

This also suggests that the oil field equity negotiations may be only part of the Trump administration’s wider push for the restructuring of Venezuela's oil industry.

However, Axios pointed out that the details of the current agreement are still being finalized, and the time for completing the deal remains unclear. As such, whether the 90 million barrel oil fields will ultimately fall under U.S. company ownership and what proportion of ownership the U.S. can secure, remains uncertain.

If the agreement is ultimately finalized, its significance will go far beyond a simple energy investment deal: the United States will move from being merely one of the leading buyers of Venezuelan crude to a direct equity holder and active producer in local oil assets, and the Trump administration's strategy to strengthen U.S. energy dominance in the Western Hemisphere will find new leverage.