WSJ: Trump secures deal for US stake in Venezuelan oil fields

US President Donald Trump's oil deal with Venezuelan authorities involves Washington acquiring a direct stake in the private company North American Blue Energy Partners, which has been granted century-old rights to 17 Venezuelan oil fields containing roughly 65 billion barrels-about one-fifth of the nation's reserves, Report informs, citing The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Under the terms of the agreement, the Pentagon, in an expansion of its authority, will help finance the project and benefit from the production. The US plans to take a 35% stake alongside a preferential right to purchase 20% of the production at cost, WSJ reports.

"If this deal survives subsequent Venezuelan governments, Trump will secure strategic US oil reserves that go beyond the shale revolution," said Rystad Energy analyst Schreiner Parker, adding that significant uncertainty remains regarding how these barrels will translate into actual production.

Trump and Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez agreed on the deal's parameters during a phone call a few days prior to the announcement. Although the agreement was discussed at a government level, the US would become an investor in a private company rather than a state counterpart. Alejandro Betancourt, head of North American Blue Energy Partners-the firm partnering with the US-has close ties to Rodríguez and was previously investigated for money laundering in Spain and Switzerland, though no charges were filed, the newspaper notes.