White House says deal to take control of Venezuelan oil will rely on North American Blue Energy Partners

August 31, 2026 / 11:15 PM EDT / CBS News

The Trump administration's plan to take a stake in tens of billions of barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves will hinge on a private company called North American Blue Energy Partners, the White House announced Monday, offering more details on the agreement.

Under the deal, the Venezuelan government granted 100-year concessions to NABEP to drill in 17 oil fields, the White House said in a fact sheet released late Monday. Those oil fields contain about 65 billion barrels, roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's total proven oil reserves.

The U.S. Defense Department will be granted a 35% stake in the company, according to the White House. The State Department will then have the right to buy 20% of NABEP's output at the cost of production, and it will have the right of first refusal to buy everything else.

Run by Venezuelan executive Alejandro Betancourt, NABEP describes itself as Venezuela's second-largest private oil producer, pumping more than 200,000 barrels of oil per day.

In a statement confirming the structure of the deal, NABEP said it is aiming to increase daily production in the near-term to over 1 million barrels. (By comparison, the U.S. consumed…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/