Venezuela has given more details about its new oil deal with the US, after President Donald Trump said the agreement would put a large part of Venezuela’s oil reserves under majority US control. Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez explained the deal in a late-night address on state television channel VTV.
Rodríguez said the country is contributing more than 100 years of experience in the oil industry, along with its oil resources and infrastructure.
Rodríguez said the agreement could help revive the Venezuelan economy and increase money flowing into the government. Rodríguez said American capital, technology and operating expertise will be used to recover and develop Venezuela’s oil assets. Rodríguez said these include oil production, new jobs, investment in infrastructure, higher government revenue and more business for local industries.
The deal is aimed at bringing Venezuela’s oil industry back to higher production levels. Venezuela will provide the oil and its existing industry and workers. The US will provide the money and technology. Venezuela expects to get several economic benefits from the deal.
The reserves covered by the deal therefore represent roughly 21% of Venezuela’s total proven reserves, based on the figures provided. The deal covers oil reserves of about 65 billion barrels, according to the figures discussed by the Venezuelan government and Trump. Venezuela has about 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in total, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Rodríguez said the actual price could change depending on global oil prices, according to The Hill. Rodríguez said Venezuela will still own its natural resources. She said the agreement does not mean Venezuela is giving up ownership of its oil reserves. She said the country is only using foreign capital, technology and operational expertise to rebuild an oil industry that has been badly damaged by years of sanctions. Van Hollen said the deal was not a win for the US. He argued that Trump had put American service members at risk in order to secure Venezuelan oil for wealthy private interests, according to The Hill. He said putting American soldiers’ lives at risk for private profit was a serious failure of Trump’s constitutional responsibilities. Trump says the US has secured majority control over a huge amount of Venezuelan oil reserves, while Rodríguez says Venezuela will retain ownership and sovereignty over its natural resources.
Venezuela has much larger total proven oil reserves, however. Rodríguez also stressed that Venezuela will keep its sovereignty over its natural resources. The deal has also faced criticism from US Democrats. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, was among the lawmakers who opposed the agreement. Van Hollen also questioned the use of US military power for the deal. The biggest questions around the deal are now about control, money and production.
