Questions Grow Over U.S.-Venezuela Oil Deal

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Flames rise from flare stacks at the Amuay refinery in Los Taques, Venezuela, on Jan. 14, 2026. A new U.S.-Venezuela oil agreement could expand production and bring major investment, though key questions remain about control, ownership and how the deal will be carried out. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)
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WASHINGTON (AURN News) — A massive new oil deal between the United States and Venezuela is raising questions about who controls the oil and how the agreement will work.

Venezuela’s interim president says the agreement will run for 25 years and initially develop 17 oil fields, with the goal of producing more than 1.5 million barrels a day.

President Donald Trump says the deal gives U.S. interests majority control over access to more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil. Venezuela says it still owns its natural resources.

The agreement could bring roughly $100 billion in investment and more than $200 billion in revenue to Venezuela.

But a major question remains unanswered: Exactly how will this work?

The full contract has not been released. Energy and legal experts are questioning both the structure of the deal and how it would be carried out.

So while the numbers are enormous, many of the details behind this 25-year agreement are still unknown.


Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.

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