The Wall Street Journal: The Pentagon Invests in Venezuelan Oil
The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration, after major American oil companies refused to invest in Venezuela, has devised an unprecedented plan for the government to directly enter the country’s oil industry.
According to this report, the U.S., through the Pentagon’s Strategic Capital Office, intends to acquire 35% of the non-management shares of a private company. This company will receive the rights to exploit 17 Venezuelan oil fields with estimated reserves of about 65 billion barrels.
The U.S. will also have preferential rights to purchase 20% of the project’s production at cost price. The Wall Street Journal announced the access period to these resources as 100 years, but Delcy Rodríguez, the interim president of Venezuela, stated the agreement’s duration is 25 years.
This agreement has been shaped after months of secret negotiations between Washington and Caracas. According to the newspaper, the war with Iran and pressure on global energy supply have been factors in the Trump administration’s efforts to secure a long-term oil source in the Western Hemisphere.