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Trump Secures 50M Barrels of Venezuelan Oil in $5.2B Deal

US President Donald Trump announced an agreement for Venezuela to supply 50 million barrels of oil, valued at $5.2 billion, to the United States. He stated the deal was made with the country's interim government following the military capture of former President Nicolás Maduro. Trump commended the relationship with the interim leadership and revealed plans for US oil companies to invest billions in repairing Venezuela's infrastructure. The revenue from initial oil sales is reportedly being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government.

Key Points: US to Get 50M Barrels of Venezuelan Oil, Trump Says

  • $5.2 billion oil deal announced
  • Follows capture of Nicolás Maduro
  • Revenue held in US-controlled accounts
  • US plans major oil infrastructure investment
  • Deal with interim government
3 min read

Trump says US to get 50 million barrels of oil worth USD 5.2 billion from Venezuela

President Trump announces a deal for 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil worth $5.2 billion, following the capture of former leader Nicolás Maduro.

"We're dealing with the new President... They said, we have 50 million barrels of oil... Will you take it? I said, we'll take it. - Donald Trump"

Washington DC, January 17

US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Venezuela has offered Washington "50 million barrels of oil" worth USD 5.2 billion, and he has agreed to that deal.

Addressing the press on the renaming of Southern Boulevard to Donald J Trump Boulevard, Trump said, "We're dealing with the new President. We're dealing with a lot of the people who are running the country...They said, we have 50 million barrels of oil, and we have to get it processed immediately because we have no room. Will you take it? I said, we'll take it. It's equivalent to USD 5.2 billion."

Trump further commended the "great relationship" with the Venezuelan interim government, formed after the US captured former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a military operation.

"We've had a great relationship with the people who are currently the Interim President and everybody else. A lot of pressure has been released," he said.

After Maduro's capture, Trump had made it clear that Washington would "run" Venezuela during a transition and needs "total access... to the oil and to other things in their country."

Trump's comments also confirms recent report of New York-based news outlet Semafor that the US has made its first sale of Venezuelan oil valued at USD 500 million

According to the Semafor report, revenue from the oil sales is currently being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, as indicated in Friday's order, according to the administration official. The main account, according to a second senior administration official, is located in Qatar.

As per a CNN report, Venezuela is sitting on a massive 303 billion barrels worth of crude -- about a fifth of the world's global reserves, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Trump previously said he plans to mobilise major U.S. oil companies to invest billions in fixing Venezuela's broken oil infrastructure.

"We are going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken oil infrastructure and start making money for the country," Trump said.

On Wednesday, Trump had a "long call" with Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said, "This partnership between the United States of America and Venezuela will be a spectacular one FOR ALL. Venezuela will soon be great and prosperous again, perhaps more so than ever before!" he added.

Rodriguez described the call as "long, productive and courteous" and said they discussed a bilateral agenda aimed at benefiting both countries.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
The optics are terrible. A foreign power openly stating it will "run" a country for its oil? It sets a dangerous precedent. What's the difference between this and old-school colonialism? The Venezuelan people's sovereignty seems to be an afterthought.
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Priyanka N
From an economic perspective, if this deal brings stability and investment to fix Venezuela's infrastructure, it could be good in the long run. But the process of capturing a sitting president to install a friendly regime is highly questionable. The ends don't justify the means. 🤔
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Aman W
Trump is being very transactional, as always. "We'll take it." Just like that! While the deal might benefit the US, I worry about the precedent for other resource-rich nations. Could similar pressure be applied elsewhere? It makes global politics feel like a corporate takeover.
K
Karthik V
Interesting to see the account is in Qatar. The geopolitics of oil money is so complex. For India, the key takeaway should be energy security diversification. We need more long-term contracts and strategic reserves to shield ourselves from such market-moving deals.
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Michael C
Let's be practical. Venezuela's oil industry was in shambles. If US investment can revive it, create jobs, and bring revenue, it's better than the status quo of poverty and collapse. The "interim government" was formed under extreme circumstances, but sometimes you need a reset.

We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.

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