【Can Trump Actually Get His Hands on Venezuela’s Oil?】Trump has just announced that Venezuela has agreed to hand over control of the majority of its proven oil reserves—over 65 billion barrels—to the United States. This agreement would more than double America’s oil reserves and ultimately lower gasoline prices.
He wrote on his account: “This deal will greatly strengthen the already increasingly close relationship between Venezuela and the United States!”
Scored!
It sounds like a heavyweight, game-changing announcement. Trump refers to this arrangement as “a collaboration with the private sector,” yet the White House has not released any details of the agreement.
Rodríguez himself confirmed: “This will have a major impact on national recovery, a product of strengthened U.S.-Venezuela relations, driving significant investment flows, enabling strategic infrastructure reconstruction, and advancing the hydrocarbon industry.”
The oil involved represents only a small fraction of Venezuela’s total proven reserves of 300 billion barrels. However, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Venezuela’s crude oil reserves rank among the world’s highest, accounting for approximately 20% of global totals.
Totally credits Rubio and Hegseth for the deal, stating both negotiated with Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president and successor to Maduro.
Rubio praised the agreement highly on social media: “For the people of Venezuela, this agreement will bring nearly $100 billion in private investment and create thousands of high-paying jobs.”
Venezuela’s energy infrastructure has deteriorated severely over the past decades, requiring at least tens of billions of dollars in new investment just to restore large-scale operations.
U.S. refineries are capable of processing Venezuela’s heavy crude oil, but U.S. refineries have been operating near full capacity for several consecutive weeks and are unable to handle any additional large-scale supply.
The timing of this agreement is delicate, coming as Trump faces a tough midterm election campaign.
This year’s midterms have made cost of living a major issue for Republicans in their campaign efforts, including high gas prices.
Data from the American Automobile Association shows that as of last Friday, the average price per gallon of gasoline reached $4.09—the highest level ever recorded.
Estimates suggest the agreement would generate only $3.22 in government revenue per barrel of Venezuelan oil—equivalent to just 4.7% of current market prices.
Trump claims the transaction is completely legal and free of any corruption. Yet, extracting resources from a poor nation like Venezuela in such a manner inevitably risks serious political consequences for Rodríguez’s government.
Will the struggling Venezuelan people accept this? Might they see it as an open act of plundering their own national resources?
Within Venezuela, there are over 2,100 miles of oil pipelines, and numerous armed groups know exactly how to sabotage them—no need to teach them.
Once cheap oil begins flowing into U.S. tankers, Venezuela could see widespread “Nord Stream”-style incidents.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874834466917379/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.