Sept. 2 (UPI) — Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez signed an energy agreement Wednesday in Caracas granting U.S. companies majority control over 65 billion barrels of crude oil reserves.
Venezuelan authorities, in the presence of U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, signed eight energy agreements with international companies, including Italy’s Eni, Chevron and GE Vernova, just four days after President Donald Trump presented the deal as the largest in U.S. history.
The agreement gives companies aligned with Washington majority control over one-fifth of Venezuela’s total oil reserves.
During his remarks, Wright said the ultimate goal of the agreement is to “bring peace, freedom, opportunity and prosperity to the people of Venezuela” while creating tens of thousands of direct jobs through private investment.
Wright said that since his first visit to Venezuela in June to meet with the interim government, officials have worked “day and night” to finalize the agreements, local news outlet Efecto Cocuyo reported.
As part of the agreement, Chevron announced in a statement a major expansion plan that calls for a $7 billion investment over the next five years in Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil Belt, with the goal of increasing production to 600,000 barrels per day.
Italian energy company Eni also signed new operating agreements to expand its activities in designated oil fields.
The U.S.-Venezuela agreement also provides for 100-year concessions covering 17 oil fields to North American Blue Energy Partners, or NABEP. Under the arrangement, Washington plans to immediately redirect up to 50 million barrels of crude oil to U.S. refineries in an effort to stabilize domestic gasoline prices.
In the electricity sector, GE Vernova and Venezuela’s state-owned oil company PDVSA agreed to a partnership aimed at rehabilitating the country’s deteriorating power system and providing advanced technical support, the Venezuelan News Agency reported.
Rodríguez said increasing oil production, with a target of 1.5 million barrels per day, cannot place additional strain on the country’s power grid.
The agreements were signed after Venezuela’s government-controlled National Assembly approved the deal, citing an urgent need for foreign investment to revive the country’s oil industry.
