White House unveils new details of Venezuela agreement

Administration details oil deal with Venezuela

The Trump administration unveiled additional details Monday evening about its new oil deal with Venezuela.

The administration said in a press release that the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital will take a 35 percent equity stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, a private company that is Venezuela’s second-largest private oil producer.

It added that the firm, which will now be partly owned by the U.S. government, was given a 100-year concession for Venezuelan oil fields that are estimated to contain about 65 billion barrels of oil — about 21 percent of Venezuela’s total estimated oil.

The administration also said that the U.S. will get the right to purchase 20 percent of the oil that North American Blue Energy Partners unearths at the cost of production.

It said that this oil can be used to fill the U.S.’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which both the Trump and Biden administrations have pulled from in recent years to mitigate the fuel price impacts of the war in Iran and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The State Department will also be given the first right of refusal to purchase the other 80 percent of the oil the company produces.

The administration said that “millions of barrels” produced in Venezuela will be processed by U.S. refineries, but it did not specify a number or percentage.

Welcome to The Hill’s Energy & Environment newsletter, I’m Rachel Frazin — keeping you up to speed on the policies impacting everything from oil and gas to new supply chains.

Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.

How policy will affect the energy and environment sectors now and in the future:

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday that the Strait of Hormuz will be “worthless” to the oil industry in two years.

A federal court on Monday struck down a New York law that sought to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change.

News we’ve flagged from other outlets touching on energy issues, the environment and other topics :

Tennessee approves license for nuclear fusion facility ( Tennessee Lookout )

A Principal Saved 900 Students Before His School Was Washed Away in Nepal ( The New York Times )

Upcoming news themes and events we’re watching:

The House Energy and Commerce Committee will mark-up several bills, including some related to nuclear energy

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on advanced nuclear energy reactors

The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing on state and local gas bans

The House Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on several bills related to federal lands

CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman said Monday that President Trump’s approval is sinking across nearly all polls as the midterm elections near. Read more

Two Democrats took the unusual step of voting with Republicans to advance a batch of GOP-backed bills, preventing a handful of conservatives from tanking the vote and effectively saving Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) agenda for the week. Read more

Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest coverage.

400 N Capitol Street NW Suite 650, Washington, DC 20001