United States and Venezuela Sign Major Oil Agreement Amid Controversy Over Terms and Asset Seizures

The United States and Venezuela have signed a major oil agreement granting 100 years of exploitation rights for 17 oil fields to the private company North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP). The deal, announced by Donald Trump on August 28 and signed on September 2, covers nine fields in the Lake Maracaibo basin and eight blocks in the Orinoco Oil Belt. According to the White House, these sites hold approximately 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, which represents nearly one fifth of Venezuela's total reserves. Some of these fields were previously managed by Chinese and Russian companies.

The agreement provides the U.S. government with a 35 percent stake in NABEP through the Pentagon's Office of Strategic Capital. The U.S. also secured the right to purchase 20 percent of the extracted crude at cost for its strategic reserve, a preferential option for the remaining 80 percent, and veto power over the company's board of directors. In exchange, Venezuela has waived taxes and royalties and ceded the fields without a public bidding process.

Questions have been raised regarding the promised investment of 100 billion dollars. While Donald Trump cited this figure, White House documents state the amount is up to 100 billion dollars, and the Department of Energy mentioned 10 billion dollars. Economists Francisco Rodriguez and Jose Guerra have questioned the viability of the funding, noting that neither the U.S. taxpayers nor the bankrupt Venezuelan state are providing the capital.

The deal is linked to Alejandro Betancourt Lopez, the founder of NABEP and Derwick Associates. Betancourt has been described as a figure who enriched himself through public contracts during the Chavismo era and has been the subject of a Swiss investigation into alleged money laundering.

Additionally, reports indicate that the reallocation of these assets involved the displacement of previous owners. The heirs of Oswaldo Cisneros, who held a 40 percent stake in the joint venture Petrodelta, claim their assets were seized to benefit new U.S. partners. Pacific Coast Energy Company (PCEC), associated with Betancourt and billionaire Alshair Fiyaz, secured contracts for 12 fields shortly after the Venezuelan government opened a sanctioning process against the Cisneros' company for alleged failures to meet investment commitments.