January 1, Trump Unlocks Staggering Oil Reserve Americans Never Knew Existed

Wyatt’s Take

• Trump just struck a historic deal giving America control over massive Venezuelan oil reserves while Biden’s policies left us paying over $4 a gallon
• The agreement hands the U.S. a 55% stake in 65 billion barrels — enough to crush OPEC’s stranglehold and bring energy independence home
• Liberal media won’t tell you this could mean $2.50 gas again, but Trump’s betting American ingenuity can turn Venezuela’s fields around where socialism failed

President Donald Trump announced a groundbreaking agreement Friday that gives the United States majority control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil. The deal comes as Americans struggle with gas prices that have soared to $4.08 per gallon — up from $3.20 just a year ago.

The Iran war continues disrupting global energy markets. Families across the heartland are feeling the pain every time they fill up their tanks.

Under the new agreement, America will hold a 55% effective interest in a newly formed private company managing Venezuela’s oil reserves. A U.S. official familiar with the negotiations confirmed the details to reporters.

The 55% stake applies to oil ultimately produced from 17 Venezuelan fields covered by the deal. While the U.S. won’t immediately access all 35.75 billion barrels, the agreement positions America to control the majority of future production.

The deal also allows the United States to purchase Venezuelan oil at cost. That provision could give American buyers access to significantly cheaper crude once production ramps up from the covered fields.

Trump said Friday the agreement would greatly increase U.S. oil supply and “substantially lower Gas Prices for all Americans, long into the future.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio backed up the president’s optimism. He said the deal would bring nearly $100 billion in private investment to Venezuela and drive down gas prices back home.

Experts caution that immediate relief at the pump isn’t guaranteed. Bringing significantly more Venezuelan crude to market will require years of infrastructure work and billions in investment, according to energy analysts.

Rystad Energy, an independent research firm, projected in July that Venezuelan oil production could jump 17% by 2028. But that growth depends on meeting serious challenges.

According to the firm’s report, Venezuela will need “higher drilling activity, extensive workover campaigns, improved infrastructure and significantly greater rig availability.”

Venezuela’s crude presents unique technical difficulties. Much of it is extremely heavy and viscous — S&P Global in 2021 described Venezuelan oil as having “the viscosity of asphalt.”

The country needs a steady supply of diluents to blend with the heavy crude. These lighter hydrocarbons make the oil thin enough to flow through pipelines and reach refineries and export terminals.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration previously warned about Venezuela’s troubled oil industry. In October 2023, after the Biden administration lifted most sanctions on Venezuela’s oil sector, the agency said “years of underinvestment and mismanagement” would limit growth.

The Trump administration is betting American involvement can reverse decades of socialist decline. The deal brings U.S. expertise and private capital to fields that have been deteriorating under government mismanagement.

U.S. oil companies have shown caution about investing in Venezuela. They cite the country’s deteriorated infrastructure and uncertain business environment as major concerns.

Days after the Trump administration ousted Nicolás Maduro, Trump met with oil executives to discuss potential investment in Venezuela’s energy sector. Several expressed reservations about the risks involved.

ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said at the time that he viewed Venezuela as “un-investable.”

Despite industry skepticism, the Trump administration is moving forward. The president believes American know-how and investment can succeed where Venezuelan socialism failed spectacularly.

Wyatt Matters

Working families don’t care about the technical details of diluents and viscosity. They care about what they pay at the pump when they’re driving their kids to school or heading to work. This deal might take years to pay off, but at least someone’s finally thinking about American energy independence instead of begging Middle East dictators for oil. Trump’s betting that American companies can fix what decades of socialism destroyed — and that’s a bet worth making when gas is over four bucks a gallon.