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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Energy & Infrastructure

Venezuela says it retains control and ownership of its oil after US deal

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources New plan
  • Venezuela’s hydrocarbons minister said the country retains control and ownership of its underground oil resources after an agreement with the United States.
  • The 25-year agreement covers 17 fields with 65 billion barrels of reserves and targets production above 1.5 million barrels per day, according to the Venezuelan government.
  • The deal will be submitted to Venezuela’s National Assembly, while the company assigned the fields has given the Pentagon a 35% stake, the article said.

Venezuela is insisting that a major oil agreement with the United States does not surrender control of its petroleum resources. Hydrocarbons Minister Paula Henao said ownership and control of the oil beneath Venezuelan territory remain with Venezuela.

The statement followed US President Donald Trump’s description of the agreement as the largest in “world history.” Trump said the deal gives the United States majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven reserves and later called it “a gift from Venezuela to the people of the United States.”

Control and ownership of the resources in the subsoil indisputably remain with Venezuela.

· Paula HenaoVenezuela’s hydrocarbons minister said the oil agreement would not transfer ownership or control of the country’s underground resources.

Henao rejected the idea that Venezuela was losing sovereignty. She described the arrangement as a commercial agreement intended to bring investment and technology to the country. The benefit offered to the United States, she said, would be a guarantee of reliable energy supplies.

A gift from Venezuela to the people of the United States.

· Donald TrumpThe US president used the phrase to describe the agreement two days after calling it the largest in world history.

The Venezuelan government says the agreement will last 25 years and cover the development of 17 fields containing a combined 65 billion barrels. Its production target exceeds 1.5 million barrels per day. Venezuela currently produces an average of 1.236 million barrels per day and expects output to reach 1.4 million by the end of 2026, according to Henao. Production stood at 3.1 million barrels per day in 1998, before the Chavista movement came to power.

The fields were assigned to North American Blue Energy Partners, or NABEP, which has granted the Pentagon a 35% shareholding. The company is led by businessman Alejandro Betancourt, who has been investigated in Spain and Switzerland over alleged money laundering and tax fraud. Henao also said the bilateral agreement would be presented to Venezuela’s Chavista-controlled National Assembly, although she did not give a date.

A commercial agreement.

· Paula HenaoHenao characterized the deal as an arrangement for investment and technology in Venezuela.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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