Washington: US President Donald Trump said his administration has reached an agreement with Venezuela that could give the United States access to large volumes of the South American country's oil reserves.In a social media post, Trump described the agreement as "THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY" and said it would provide access to 65 billion barrels of oil reserves.According to Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the agreement involves the development of 17 oil fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels.Rodríguez said the project could attract up to USD100 billion in investment into Venezuela's oil industry and generate more than USD209 billion in tax revenues for the country.Trump said the agreement was negotiated by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Rodríguez.A US official familiar with the arrangement said the agreement would allow the United States to partner with an unnamed private operator in Venezuela to create a new company to develop the reserves.Rodríguez described the agreement as a step towards economic recovery and modernisation of Venezuela's oil sector.However, key details remain unclear, including how quickly the reserves could be developed, who would finance the project and when production could begin. No text of the agreement has been publicly released.
