Trump announces major US-Venezuela oil deal

Donald Trump has announced a deal between the United States and Venezuela on oil development, calling it "la più grande intesa petrolifera nella storia del mondo" (English: "the greatest oil deal in the history of the world"). The agreement will allow Washington to take part in developing more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in the South American country.

According to the US president, the deal will increase the supply of crude oil on the market and help lower fuel prices in the United States. Trump presented the agreement as a major achievement for his administration.

Investments of more than 100 billion

The plan calls for the development of 17 oil fields considered strategic, in cooperation with private operators in the sector. Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, welcomed the agreement, saying it could support the country's economic recovery through investments of more than 100 billion dollars, over 80 billion francs at the current exchange rate.

According to the government in Caracas, these investments could generate 209 billion dollars in tax revenue. This would be a significant sum for Venezuela's public finances, provided the government's estimates are confirmed in practice.

Many details of the deal remain unknown, however: the text of the agreement has not been published. There is no precise information on how profits will be shared between the parties, on the timeline for the projects, or on the guarantees offered to the private operators expected to invest in the fields.

The absence of an official text also leaves open questions about the financial sustainability of the operation for Venezuela's public finances, and about the competitive conditions that will govern access to the 17 priority oil fields. It also remains to be seen what role the Venezuelan state will play in the direct management of the fields relative to the international partners involved in the project, and to what extent the promised tax revenue will translate into concrete benefits for the country's public finances rather than remaining a mere projection.