Washington: US President Donald Trump has made a big claim about Venezuela’s oil reserves. According to Trump, America has succeeded in an agreement under which it has got control over Venezuela’s proven oil reserves of more than 65 billion barrels. He has described this agreement as ‘the world’s biggest oil deal’.
Trump says that this agreement will significantly increase America’s oil reserves and can help in reducing petrol prices for the American people in the future. He has given credit for this deal to Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and Defence Minister Pete Hegseth.
What is Trump’s claim regarding Venezuelan oil?
According to Trump, after the agreement, America has gained control over Venezuela’s proven oil reserves of more than 65 billion barrels. He claimed that this could more than double America’s oil reserves.
However, the detailed terms of the agreement and complete information about all the private companies involved have not yet been made public. It is reported that Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez and private companies are involved in this arrangement. American oil companies may also participate in these.
How much will Venezuela benefit from this deal?
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called this agreement a big victory for the people of both countries. According to him, about 100 billion dollars of private investment can come to Venezuela through this arrangement.
This investment is claimed to revive the oil industry, create thousands of jobs and help rebuild the Venezuelan economy.
Will it cost American taxpayers?
Trump has said that this entire deal will not cost American taxpayers any money. He has described this as a step to strengthen relations between America and Venezuela.
According to the US administration, emphasis will be placed on increasing the capacity of Venezuela’s oil industry through private investment. However, the actual investment structure and role of companies may become more clear in the future.
Why is America eyeing Venezuelan oil?
Venezuela has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. According to available data, there are reserves of about 303 billion barrels of crude oil in the country. This is said to be about 17 percent of the world’s total oil reserves.
Despite this, Venezuela’s oil production has remained around 1 percent of global production. The main reason for this is considered to be the weak and dilapidated oil infrastructure of the country.
That is, Venezuela has a huge amount of oil underground, but the ability to extract, process and export it has long been weak. America is seeing big business opportunities in this area.
How did the oil equation change after Maduro?
After the ouster of Nicolas Maduro from power in Venezuela, talks regarding oil have intensified between the US and the country’s new government. Trump has already appealed to American oil companies to return to Venezuela and start work there.
Interim President Delsey Rodriguez is also playing an important role in this new arrangement. She had previously been minister of petroleum and hydrocarbons in the Maduro government.
Trump says that during the Hugo Chávez era, Venezuela had nationalised the assets of American companies, which harmed American oil interests. Now Trump is presenting the new system as an economic comeback for American companies.
Did America really get complete control over Venezuelan oil?
At present this thing has mainly come to the fore in the form of Trump’s claim. The full terms of the agreement, the companies’ shareholding, the legal form of control over oil reserves and detailed information about the investment have not yet been fully made public.
In such a situation, only after the official information related to this deal comes out in the coming time will it be clear how and to what extent America has gained control over Venezuela’s oil reserves.
