Trump announced the “biggest oil deal in history”

Trump claimed that the deal would not cost the American taxpayer anything, and that it could more than double the oil reserves of the United States.

According to the published details, the deal includes the development of 17 oil fields through a new private company, in which the US is expected to control approximately 55%. Investments in the projects may reach approximately 100 billion dollars, while the Venezuelan government is expected to benefit from significant tax revenues.

The announcement comes at a particularly sensitive time for the energy market. The war between Iran and the traffic disruptions in Hormuz have increased the price of oil, which is now trading at a level close to $90 for Brent oil and $83 for WTI oil.

At the same time, fuel prices in the US soared – the average price of a gallon of gasoline reached $4.09 on Friday, a 27% increase compared to last year.

Thus, the move marks a deep strategic change: the US is not only looking for alternative sources of oil for the current crisis, but is trying to return Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves in the world, to the center of the global energy market.

According to Trump, the agreement more than doubles the oil reserves of the US. Data published by the US Department of Energy earlier this month showed that the amount of oil in the US Strategic Emergency Reserve has dropped to levels not seen since the 1980s.

Trump presents the deal with Venezuela as a way to increase oil supply and lower prices at gas stations, but the effect is not expected to be immediate. The oil industry in Venezuela has been suffering for years from underinvestment, aging infrastructure and a sharp drop in production capacity. To return the fields to significant production will require huge investments and time.

The agreement with Venezuela comes after the American attack on the South American country in January. During the attack, Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela at the time, and his wife Celia Flores were captured.