US-Venezuela Oil Reserves Deal: 17 Fields, Up to 100-Year Leases

The US-Venezuela oil reserves deal is nearing finalisation, with Washington negotiating leases on 17 Venezuelan oil fields in the Orinoco Belt and Lake Maracaibo. The fields are estimated to hold around 90 billion barrels of proven reserves—about one third of Venezuela’s ~300 billion total proven reserves. The proposed US-Venezuela oil reserves deal follows a lease model that could run up to 100 years, with American companies guaranteed access to output. Secretary of State Marco Rubio leads the US side, while Venezuelan acting President Delcy Rodríguez represents Caracas. Commercial momentum has already built after Nicolás Maduro was ousted in January 2026. Venezuelan oil production reportedly rose by roughly 300,000 barrels per day to about 1.25 million bpd, and around half flows to the US. Earlier in 2026, the US directed initial Venezuelan oil sales of 30–50 million barrels through American channels, and in August 2026 SLB and Hunt Oil signed contracts with PDVSA. Key obstacles remain. Venezuela faces political and constitutional hurdles around century-long leases of sovereign hydrocarbons. The US also faces scrutiny over executive authority to lock in long-term resource commitments. If the framework is formalised, it could trigger wider private investment, especially benefiting Gulf Coast refining and heavy-crude processing capacity.