Caracas, Aug 30,2026: Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez said that a landmark oil agreement with the United States will remain in effect for 25 years and aims to lift the country’s crude production to more than 1.5 million barrels per day, as Washington and Caracas move to deepen their rapidly evolving economic ties.
Rodriguez asserted that the country is preserving its sovereignty despite the announcement that it will hand over the rights to billions of barrels of its oil to the United States.
The “historic” deal with Washington to hand over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil will last 25 years and allow Venezuela to develop its oil industry while preserving “ownership of and sovereignty” of its resources, Rodriguez said in a televised address to the nation.
Speaking to state broadcaster VTV, Rodriguez described the agreement as “historic” and said it would cover the development of eight oil fields in the Orinoco Oil Belt, one of Venezuela’s main petroleum-producing regions.
“Our goal is to go even further with the signing of other major agreements involving giant companies such as Chevron, Repsol, Eni, Shell and BP. We want to become an energy power,” Rodriguez said.
She said the agreement would provide Venezuela with about $19 for every barrel produced and sold, while the deal includes a minimum royalty rate of 16% and an income tax rate of 34%.
Based on an oil price of $65 a barrel, Rodriguez said Venezuela could generate about $209.335 billion in revenue from the agreement.
“It must be absolutely clear that Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its resources,” Rodriguez said, adding that the United States would provide capital, technology and operational expertise to help revive the country’s oil industry, which has been severely affected by sanctions.
Rodriguez also pledged transparency over the arrangement, saying Venezuelans “have the right to know how much is being invested, how much is being produced, how much revenue the state is receiving and what the conditions are for the operators.”
US President Donald Trump said that Washington had finalized what he called the “biggest oil deal in world history”, involving majority US control of more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves.
Trump said the agreement would be implemented through private industry and would not require taxpayer funding. He also claimed the deal would more than double existing US oil reserves and eventually help “substantially lower gas prices” for Americans.
Trump credited US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, along with Rodriguez, with helping finalize the agreement.
Rubio described the deal as a “huge win” for both countries and said it would bring nearly $100 billion in private investment to Venezuela.
Rodriguez thanked Trump and Rubio for their role in reaching the agreement, saying that “each side contributed what it does best.”
The deal marks a major shift in relations between Washington and Caracas and could provide Venezuela with significant new investment and technology to restore oil production and accelerate its economic recovery.
