US Moves Into Venezuela’s Oil Fields, Displacing Russian and Chinese Operators

The United States is expanding its role in Venezuela’s oil sector under a new agreement that will see a US-backed company take over fields previously operated by Chinese companies and a Russian firm, shifting control of key energy assets toward Washington.

North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) will receive 14 newly awarded contracts, two US officials told Reuters on August 31. Five of the fields had been operated by Chinese companies, while another was previously managed by a Russian company.

The takeover is part of a broader oil agreement announced by US President Donald Trump last week, under which the United States secured access to around 64 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves through a partnership with private business.

According to Reuters, NABEP is expected to control 17 projects in Venezuela in total. Two of the newly awarded projects had been operated by China Concord Resources, which was sanctioned by the US in 2019 over Iran-related activities. Others were operated by Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corporation.

The Russian company that previously operated one of the projects was not identified. “Not only are we opening up new opportunities for the US government to benefit and for US operators to benefit, we are opening up the United States as the market for this oil which was previously being sent to China,” a US official told Reuters.

Washington will also gain a direct stake in the operation. The White House said the US government will hold rights to a 35% stake in NABEP’s corporate parent, receive preferential access to 20% of its oil production at cost, and have the right of first refusal to purchase the remaining 80%.

The US will also have veto power over NABEP’s board and directors, with a majority of the board required to be US citizens.

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NABEP, controlled by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, plans to invest up to $100 billion in new oil infrastructure. The White House estimates the company will pay approximately $200 billion in royalties and taxes over the first 25 years.

The agreement shifts several Venezuelan oil assets away from Russian and Chinese operators while giving Washington a direct financial role and preferential access to production from some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence identified 66 vessels linked to Russia, Iran, and Venezuela that it said were involved in transporting sanctioned oil and smuggling Ukrainian grain, including tankers connected to Russia’s state-owned shipping company Sovcomflot.

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