Venezuela sits on more proven oil than Saudi Arabia, most of it heavy crude that needs foreign technology and capital to extract. It produced over three million barrels a day when Hugo Chavez was elected in 1998 and well under one million after two decades of political purges in the state oil company, expropriation, unpaid debts and, from 2019, American sanctions. Within days of removing Nicolas Maduro in January 2026, Washington began selling Venezuelan crude. By September it had signed agreements that give the United States government and American companies a share in the reserves for decades.
The intervention, the transition and each side's full account: Venezuela after the American intervention.
Where it stands · September 2026
On 1 September 2026 the United States and Venezuela signed an oil agreement running one hundred years, which displaces sanctioned producers. Chevron and Eni pledged seven billion dollars to double Venezuela's oil output. On 16 September American oil companies signed deals with Venezuela as the United States eased drug sanctions; Exxon and Continental were near agreements. On 21 September Halliburton signed energy pacts with Eneva and WESCA. The agreements place American firms in Venezuelan production and change which producers supply the market.
What the dispute is about
Ownership. Venezuela's constitution reserves the oil under the ground to the state. The interim government says the new contracts respect that. Its critics say a foreign government with a permanent share of production, and a veto over who else may invest, owns the oil in all but name.
Who may sign. Agreements binding the country for a generation have been made by an acting president whom nobody elected, under the guns of the other party.
Who is pushed out. China and Russia lent Venezuela tens of billions to be repaid in oil. The new arrangements put American claims first.
