Washington Nears a Direct Stake In 17 Venezuelan Oil Fields
Oil executives are about to touch down in Caracas, and Washington wants a seat at the table too. After notorious deals in minerals, semiconductors, and steel, the White House is in advanced talks to take a stake in 17 Venezuelan oil-and-gas fields. It’s the boldest bet on foreign oil since WWII... which ultimately failed.
- Those fields hold ~90B barrels — nearly double America’s own total supply, and within Venezuela’s broader 300B-barrel ecosystem.
- US gasoline prices have jumped 38% since the war in Iran began — as crossings through the Strait of Hormuz have collapsed by ~90%.
The private-side rush: Meanwhile, months of stalled talks are finally paying off. Chevron is closing in on two new heavy-oil fields, expanding as the only major US operator in Venezuela. At the same time, Halliburton works to bring its equipment to local producers, but Hunt Oil already beat them to it — signing the country’s first production deal earlier this month. ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips remain the notable holdouts, still owed restitution for Venezuela’s 2007 seizure of their assets. The country offers the world’s largest oil reserve, but the math still doesn’t work for everyone.