The US captured Venezuela's president. The size of the deal is now public.
American forces took Nicolas Maduro out of Caracas at the start of this year. He is still in United States custody. The government that replaced him has now signed the country's oil away for a century.
The terms reached the public through the White House. Venezuela's interim authorities have granted North American Blue Energy Partners, a privately held company, 100-year concessions for 17 oil fields with proven reserves of approximately 65 billion barrels, EnergyConnects reported. NPR and Democracy Now carry the same figures.
That is the deal. Here is the part that changes what it is.
The company granted the US Office of Strategic Capital a 35 percent equity stake. That office is the Department of Defense's investment arm. It is now a shareholder in the venture holding the leases.
The reporting differs on exactly where the stake sits. EnergyConnects places it in the company's corporate parent. NPR describes a 35 percent ownership stake in the company itself, and Democracy Now describes the Department of Defense holding 35 percent of a joint US-Venezuelan private company that now holds 100-year leases to 17 oil fields. The share is the same in all three accounts.
Set the two facts next to each other. The government that removed one president holds equity in the company that the next government handed the oil to.
How long the leases actually run is not settled. On Democracy Now, the economist Francisco Rodriguez said that President Delcy Rodriguez had put the term at 25 years, and that the White House then said it was not 25 years, it was 100.
Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as Venezuela's acting president on January 5, 2026, two days after Maduro was taken. She has described the agreement as modernizing the industry, according to NPR.
One hundred years is the number the White House uses. Twenty-five is the number Caracas used. The barrels are the same either way.
By the numbers
- 65 billion — barrels of proven reserves under the 17 oil fields granted on 100-year concessions to North American Blue Energy Partners[1]
- 35 percent — the equity stake granted to the US Office of Strategic Capital, the Department of Defense's investment arm[2]
- 25 years — the term the economist Francisco Rodriguez said President Delcy Rodriguez had given, against the White House's 100[3]
The reporting
This story is built on reporting by Democracy Now. Read the original →
Sources
- Democracy Now, The Biggest Oil Deal or Theft at Gunpoint?
- EnergyConnects, As US-Venezuela Oil Deal Takes Shape, Here Are the Key Points
- NPR, Days after Trump announces Venezuela oil deal, White House fills in some of the details
Image credits
- Hero: source (US military photo, via the White House) — U.S. military
- In story: source (Presidencia de Venezuela, via Wikimedia Commons) — Presidencia de Venezuela
- In story: source (US Air Force photo, public domain) — Master Sgt. Ken Hammond
