The Defense Department’s Office of Strategic Capital, founded by the Biden administration to give loans to bolster the U.S. defense industry, is helping lead President Trump’s oil deal.
President Trump said his defense secretary and secretary of state reached an agreement with the Venezuelan government on securing billions of barrels of oil reserves “through a partnership with private business.”
Venezuela is believed to have one of the world’s largest reserves of oil but it produces very little oil because of mismanagement, corruption and U.S. sanctions.
The president said an agreement between the countries covered more than 65 billion barrels of reserves. A U.S. official said it would involve a partnership with a private company.
An oil refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela, in 2021. Venezuela’s president, Delcy Rodríguez, said a U.S. oil deal would have a “significant impact on our nation’s revival.”