Report examines US oil concessions in Venezuela after Maduro's detention

On January 3, 2026, US forces detained then-president Nicolas Maduro and his wife during an operation in Caracas and transferred them to New York, according to a Mehr News report. Following the operation, President Donald Trump spoke of Washington's role in administering Venezuela's transitional period, remarks that raised questions about the country's political independence and sovereignty.

The report said that on August 31, 2026, the White House announced a major agreement granting a 100-year concession to exploit 17 Venezuelan oil fields to the private company North American Blue Energy Partners. The fields are said to hold about 65 billion barrels of proven reserves. According to details published by the White House, the US Department of War, through its Office of Strategic Investment, receives 35 percent of the parent company's shares. The State Department will have the right to purchase 20 percent of oil production at cost price and a right of first refusal on the remaining 80 percent. Washington also holds veto power over board appointments, and a majority of board members must be US citizens. The Trump administration described the deal as securing US energy security and rebuilding Venezuela's economy, alongside a $100 billion investment program for oil infrastructure.

A Reuters report on October 30 presented a different picture, according to Mehr News. NABEP has promised to raise output from about 224,000 barrels per day to over one million, but faces technical, financial, and infrastructural obstacles. Citing 15 workers, contractors, investors, and experts, Reuters reported debts to contractors, a shortage of skilled personnel, equipment supply difficulties, and worn-out infrastructure. Francisco Monaldi of Rice University's Baker Institute estimated that only about 10 billion barrels of the declared reserves would be realistically developable within the 25-year period permitted for Venezuelan oil projects. The report also noted that about 80 percent of nearly 4,000 inactive wells in the Maracaibo fields need repair. The first one-million-barrel cargo reached Texas, which Trump described as a gift, saying: "To the victor belong the spoils, right?"

The report said Venezuela's interim government, led by Delcy Rodriguez, has defended the agreement as an opportunity to attract capital and increase national revenues. However, it noted that opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has said she has not seen the contract text and is concerned about its transparency. The Mehr News report argued that the case blurs the line between economic cooperation and political domination, and that the difference between Trump's approach and that of previous administrations lies less in the nature of the policy than in its explicitness. It added that the Venezuela case is also a test for the credibility of rules governing international relations and the principle of national sovereignty. According to Mehr News, the developments show how fragile the boundary between the slogan of freedom and economic interests can be in Washington's foreign policy.