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 operate the Venezuelan fields while still generating revenue for the Venezuelan government.

The White House has not commented on the negotiations, and the deal remains in preliminary stages with no final agreement reached.

Why now, and why Venezuela

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been drawn down to levels not seen in roughly 40 years. Global supply disruptions tied to conflicts involving Iran and Ukraine have tightened the oil market.

Following Nicolás Maduro’s ouster in January 2026, the US has already exerted considerable influence over Venezuelan oil sales. Washington previously seized Venezuelan oil cargoes, a move that signaled its willingness to treat Venezuelan energy assets as within its sphere of control. The current negotiations represent a more structured, bilateral version of that approach.

Since nationalizing significant portions of its oil sector under Hugo Chávez in the mid-2000s, Venezuela has required foreign operators to transfer majority stakes to the state-controlled oil company PDVSA. This drove several major US oil companies including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to step away, leading to stalled production levels, which once exceeded 3 million barrels per day. The collapse in production stemmed from underinvestment, mismanagement, and heavy sanctions.

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