U.S.-Venezuela oil deals are ‘historic,’ energy secretary says

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright described new oil agreements with Venezuela as “historic” during a ceremony at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. Wright said the United States wants to expand energy production across the Americas, calling the region “our neighborhood.”

Wright and Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, attended the signing of several agreements between private companies and Venezuelan partners. U.S. companies Chevron and General Electric, along with Italy’s Eni, signed documents covering energy cooperation.

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Historic

The deals follow an arrangement under which the United States, through a private company, secured access to vast Venezuelan oil resources. U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would gain majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of reserves, about one-fifth of Venezuela’s estimated holdings.

Chevron has also confirmed plans to expand its Venezuelan operations. Through a joint venture, the company expects to invest more than $7 billion over the next five years and increase production to about 600,000 barrels per day, more than double its 2026 level.

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This is our neighborhood.

The agreements come after Washington captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro during a military operation in Caracas in January and took him to the United States. He is expected to face trial over alleged links to drug trafficking. Rodríguez took over the government’s functions after his arrest.

Rodríguez called the agreements historic for Venezuela and said, “I describe this process as Venezuela’s rebirth.” She thanked Trump for efforts to reach arrangements with Venezuela for “mutual benefit.” Venezuela holds an estimated 303 billion barrels of oil, the world’s largest reserves, much of it heavy crude requiring specialized production and refining technology.

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I describe this process as Venezuela’s rebirth.