Scoop: U.S. close to striking "massive" deal for Venezuelan oil fields
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Newsletters Axios Local Show Axios Pro Axios Live The Axios Show Login Axios All topics Axios Search Aug 27, 2026 - Politics & Policy Scoop: U.S. close to striking "massive" deal for Venezuelan oil fields Marc Caputo email (opens in new window) sms (opens in new window) facebook (opens in new window) twitter (opens in new window) linkedin (opens in new window) bluesky (opens in new window) Add Axios on Google Add Axios as your preferred source to
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The Trump administration is in talks with Venezuela's interim government about taking an ownership stake in the South American country's enormous oil resources, two U.S. officials tell Axios.
Why it matters : The historic deal would more than double U.S. oil reserves by drawing from a country that has the world's largest proven reserves.
Zoom in : Details are still being hammered out, but the discussions involve more than a dozen productive oil fields — not all of Venezuela's 300 billion barrels of proven reserves.
Zoom out : The Venezuelan oil deal would be a legacy-defining moment for President Trump, who has made U.S. energy security and dominance in the Western Hemisphere pillars of his so-called "Donroe Doctrine."
Behind the scenes : The talks have been spearheaded by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodriguez.
What's next: The exact timing for finalizing the deal is unclear, but Energy Secretary Chris Wright has been discussing plans to go to Venezuela next week as his department discusses ways to increase oil production by U.S. firms.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to say that the Venezuela oil fields in question have proven reserves of 90 billion barrels of oil, rather than that they produce 90 million barrels a day.
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