Shafaqna English– A sweeping, long-term petroleum agreement that is anticipated to provide the United States with access to approximately one-fifth of Venezuela’s total crude oil reserves has prompted widespread concern among energy sector experts and legal professionals.
These specialists are not only questioning the legal validity and constitutional grounding of the deal but also casting doubt on its practical feasibility and eventual implementation on the ground.
In response to these uncertainties, they have collectively urged both the U.S. and Venezuelan governments to publicly disclose the full terms and conditions of the contract in order to ensure full transparency and accountability.
This historically unprecedented agreement, which was formally announced by former U.S. President Donald Trump this past Friday(28 Aug 2026) and subsequently endorsed by Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, is set to place a staggering 65 billion barrels of technically recoverable crude oil under the operational and administrative authority of Washington.
To put this figure into perspective, it significantly surpasses the entirety of the United States’ own proven oil reserves, which currently stand at approximately 46 billion barrels. The sheer scale of the transfer has further intensified scrutiny from international observers, who are now closely monitoring how such a massive asset handover will be structured, regulated, and executed in practice.
Source: Reuters