Trump Secures Venezuelan Oil Deal and G20 Summit Presence

The United States is implementing a comprehensive framework to revive Venezuela's oil industry and shift the geopolitical center of energy production to the Western Hemisphere. President Donald Trump invited Venezuelan officials, including Oil Minister Paula Henao, to a G20 energy summit in Houston, Texas, running through September 16. The summit aims to address global energy prices and supply disruptions caused by the US-Iran war.

This rapprochement follows the January capture of Nicolás Maduro and the installation of interim President Delcy Rodríguez. As part of a broader strategy to increase production to 2 million barrels per day, the U.S. government secured a deal granting it majority control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan petroleum reserves. This includes a 35% equity position in North American Blue Energy Partners and the right to purchase 20% of its Venezuelan crude production at cost.

Complementing government action, Chevron plans a $7 billion investment to double its production to 600,000 barrels per day, while Italy's Eni is developing the Junin 5 oil field. U.S. officials intend to use the increased supply to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at lower costs. The Houston summit has sparked controversy among European allies due to the inclusion of a Russian delegation, while President Trump has attributed diesel shortages to Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries.