Democrats Attack Trump’s Venezuela Oil Deal as Details Remain Unclear

Democrats criticized President Donald Trump's announcement of a new US-Venezuela oil agreement, arguing that the arrangement could benefit private oil interests while putting US service members at risk.

President Donald Trump has announced an agreement giving the United States majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's proven oil reserves. [Photo: Energy Analytics Institute (EAI)]

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the agreement was “not a win,” arguing that the US military operation that led to the ouster of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro had put American troops in danger for what he described as private profit.

Trump announced the agreement on Aug. 28, saying the United States had secured majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela's proven oil reserves through a partnership with private businesses.

The White House subsequently described the agreement as providing the United States with governance rights, economic ownership and guaranteed low-cost oil offtake from a new private Venezuelan oil company. 

The agreement involves 17 Venezuelan oil fields with approximately 65 billion barrels of proven reserves.

The White House says the fields will be operated under 100-year concessions granted to North American Blue Energy Partners, a privately held company. 

The oil remains underground in Venezuela; the agreement does not mean the United States has acquired 65 billion barrels of oil in storage. 

Venezuela's interim government has said the arrangement could attract about $100 billion in private investment and generate approximately $209 billion in tax revenue.

Those figures are projections associated with the agreement, rather than money already invested or collected. 

The 65 billion barrels covered by the agreement represent a portion of Venezuela's estimated 303 billion barrels of proven reserves.

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also criticized the arrangement, questioning whether it would lower US fuel prices and accusing Trump of using the military operation against Maduro to gain control of Venezuelan oil.

Trump has promoted the agreement as a way to expand Venezuelan production, lower energy costs and strengthen US energy security.

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However, analysts have warned that significant investment, infrastructure repairs and political and legal challenges could limit how quickly Venezuela's oil production can increase.