Trump Announces a Venezuela Oil Deal Giving the U.S. 55% of 17 Fields Holding 65 Billion Barrels

President Trump announced in an Aug. 28, 2026 evening social media post that the United States had entered an agreement with Venezuela covering 17 oil fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels, calling it "THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY." He said Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth and Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, negotiated it. A U.S. official speaking anonymously said the government would partner with an unnamed private operator in a new company holding 100-year development rights, with the United States taking 55% of effective output.\n\nThe arrangement would place the federal government in direct ownership of another country's petroleum reserves months after a U.S. military operation captured then-President Nicolas Maduro. The private partner, the legal authority invoked and any congressional review have not been disclosed.\n\nVenezuela's government said the deal could draw $100 billion in investment and yield $209 billion in taxes for Caracas. No agreement text has been released, and analysts note that raising Venezuelan output would take years of infrastructure repair.