Venezuela’s historic oil deal with the US reignites environmental, human rights concerns

The U.S. has struck a deal giving it access to more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves, with up to $100 billion in planned infrastructure investment, structured through private company North American Blue Energy Partners, in which the U.S. holds a 35% equity stake and rights to purchase 20% of production over a 25-year term. The deal follows a January military operation that removed President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuelan officials project the deal will generate over $209 billion in revenue, or about $8.4 billion annually, and President Delcy Rodríguez called it a path to a ‘prosperous future.’ But environmental groups Provea and Clima21 note Venezuelan crude is unusually sulfur-heavy and emissions-intensive, and the country already experiences dozens of oil spills a year, some allegedly covered up by the government.

Roughly 70,785 square kilometers of Venezuela's oil blocks overlap with protected areas, according to mapping data, and civil society groups say officials haven't disclosed where the 17 covered oil fields actually sit or whether they touch Indigenous territory. Neither NABEP nor Venezuela's hydrocarbons ministry responded to requests for comment.

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