{"id":209901,"date":"2026-09-01T12:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T12:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/209901\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T12:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T12:26:12","slug":"trump-vows-us-will-take-all-of-venezuelas-oil-as-deal-details-emerge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/209901\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump vows US will take &#8216;all&#8217; of Venezuela&#8217;s oil as deal details emerge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Days after announcing what it calls the largest oil deal in history, the Trump administration has filled in the details.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">A fact sheet released on Monday night by the White House named North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) as the operator at the centre of the arrangement, disclosed the ownership structure for the first time and set out what Washington gets in return.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Venezuela&#8217;s interim authorities have granted NABEP 100-year concessions over 17 fields with the agreement signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">The Venezuelan reserves dwarf America&#8217;s own, as the 65 billion barrels covered by the concessions compare with roughly 46 billion across US territory.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, US President Donald Trump called the reserves &#8220;unbelievable value that was sitting dormant&#8221; and added that the US is &#8220;going to be taking all of that. We&#8217;re going to be taking that oil out.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">The US president also reasserted that American majors were queuing up to be a part of the takeover of Venezuelan oil fields.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">&#8220;We have Exxon going in, we have Chevron going in, we have our big oil companies going in, and everybody&#8217;s bidding,&#8221; Trump stated.  <\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/b0cb979602055f01fe1ff46d84e2730f662ce7aec336157e08bf52ac93a99fa2\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefit_w960%3Bquality_80%3Bformat_webp\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Feuronews_sg_articles_551%2Fed3d5eedb910925477935e3b0874753a.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==\" alt=\"FILE. A pedestrian walks past a mural featuring oil wells in Caracas, Venezuela, 29 Aug. 2026\" height=\"539\" width=\"808\" class=\"yf-1f8hkhu loader\"\/><\/a> FILE. A pedestrian walks past a mural featuring oil wells in Caracas, Venezuela, 29 Aug. 2026 &#8211; AP Photo\/Pedro Mattey           What Washington gets          <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">In exchange for the inclusion in the deal, NABEP has given the US Department of War&#8217;s Office of Strategic Capital a 35% equity stake in its corporate parent, which the White House says is worth up to hundreds of billions at zero cost to taxpayers.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">The US State Department also secures the right to buy 20% of output from all current and future NABEP fields at production cost, intended to partly refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, plus right of first refusal on the remaining 80%.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Washington holds a veto over board appointments, a majority of directors must be US citizens and the agreement falls under US law and courts.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">NABEP has committed to investing up to $100 billion (\u20ac86bn) in Venezuelan oil infrastructure and is expected to pay around $200 billion (\u20ac172bn) in royalties and taxes over 25 years.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Most of the fields were previously run by Russian or Chinese firms, which the White House casts as a reassertion of the Monroe Doctrine.  <\/p>\n<p>        Signatures expected, questions unresolved          <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Further energy contracts are due to be signed this week, but reports suggest the arrangement is causing unease among the very majors that Trump says are queuing.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">NABEP is controlled by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, investigated by US and European authorities over past dealings with the Venezuelan government, though never charged, and who denies wrongdoing.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Reportedly, oil majors negotiating their own contracts want assurances they will not find themselves seated alongside him.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Exxon and ConocoPhillips both left Venezuela in 2007 after their assets were nationalised, and each says its requirements on legal certainty and contract sanctity remain unmet.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Former US energy advisers have warned of political risk, since a future government in Caracas or Washington could challenge the terms. NABEP reportedly produces between 170,000 and 200,000 barrels a day, second among private operators behind Chevron.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Related  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Betancourt said Venezuela is &#8220;blessed with an abundance of natural resources, hardworking people and untapped potential,&#8221; and that the deal would &#8220;unleash that potential to the great benefit of both Venezuelans and Americans.&#8221;  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Venezuela&#8217;s Acting President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez has also backed it as a chance to modernise the industry, insisting in the face of criticism that the country cedes nothing of its sovereignty.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Lawmakers on Capitol Hill said on Monday they were seeking further information about the agreement, which was negotiated without congressional involvement.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"text text-block paragraph text-left neo-font-paragraph-xl-reg  yf-18d6y07\" style=\"text-decoration: none; font-style: normal; text-transform: none; text-align: inherit; font-variant-numeric: normal;\">Whether the majors share the Trump administration&#8217;s confidence should become clearer within days, when the contracts are due to be signed.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Days after announcing what it calls the largest oil deal in history, the Trump administration has filled in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":209902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[121],"tags":[186,93978,74,1643,92726],"class_list":["post-209901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-marco-rubio","tag-marco-rubio","tag-nabep","tag-trump","tag-venezuela","tag-venezuelan"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@people\/117195780703417918","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=209901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/209901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/209902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=209901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=209901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=209901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}