US in talks with Venezuela to acquire stake in country's oil fields as strategic reserves fall to 40-year-low: Report

US and Venezuela are reportedly nearing a deal for Washington to acquire stakes in over a dozen Venezuelan oil fields, potentially boosting US oil reserves.

Updated on: Aug 27, 2026, 23:31:15 IST

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The United States is reportedly in talks with the interim government of Venezuela to acquire ownership stakes in at least a dozen oil fields in the South American country. The Axios reported Thursday citing two unnamed US officials that the two countries are close to signing the "massive" deal.

The murmurs of the deal in Washington come as the US Strategic Petroleum Reserves fell to approximately 289.7 barrels in August 2026. It is the lowest since 1982, amid the ongoing crisis in the Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz deadlock.

The officials cited in the report said that the deal will "more than double" the current strategic petroleum reserves in the US. The details remain in discussion and the exact number of oil fields to be acquired by Washington is unclear. But the report notes that it could involve "more than a dozen productive oil fields" which can produce "as many as 90 million barrels of oil a day."

"Calling this deal huge would be an understatement," an official cited in the report said. "It is massive."

Background Of The Deal: What We Know So Far

The US has always been interested in Venezuelan petroleum reserves. Following the January 3 capture of Maduro, Trump reiterated his debunked claim that Venezuela had "stolen" US oil – a reference to the nationalization of the oil in Venezuela, in which several US companies' assets were also acquired by the Venezuelan state.

Later in January, Trump signed a deal with the interim government by which Venezuela would provide 30 million to 50 million barrels of crude oil at market price to the US.

As talks between the US and Venezuela's interim government went on after the capture of Maduro, Trump became increasingly confident of a deal by which the US could gain more control the oil business in the country. On April 1, Trump described the US and Venezuela as "partners in a joint venture," simultaneously creating pathways for big and small US petroleum companies to enter the country's oil business.

On August 17, Bloomberg had reported that Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Bentancourt was acting as the primary intermediary between the US and Venezuela as they talked about the US's stake in the country's oil. But Thursday's Axios disclosure takes the scale of the potential deal to a new high.

Behind The Scenes Details Of Deal

Axios added that the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is representing US in talks with Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez. White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller is also "playing a major role," the report adds.

Additionally, there is an effort on the part of both parties to present the deal as mutually beneficial. "President Trump is close to securing America's energy future for generations to come, not just in the U.S. but in the hemisphere," the other official told Axios.

Plus, they said that they are "going out of our way to show how this will benefit the people of Venezuela, because it will." They argue US companies operating in the country will bring in more oil revenue for Venezuela.

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