Venezuela might be getting ready to say goodbye to OPEC, the oil cartel it helped found back in 1960 alongside Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. That would be a big deal, and it's apparently something Caracas has been chewing over with U.S. officials, though no final call has been made yet, according to a Bloomberg report on Wednesday.
But that's not the only oil drama brewing. Axios reported on Thursday that the Trump administration is in talks with Venezuela's interim government about buying a stake in the country's massive oil resources. The details aren't nailed down, but the discussions are focused on a dozen productive oil fields, not the whole 300 billion barrels of proven reserves Venezuela sits on.
Those dozen fields hold close to 90 million barrels of proven reserves, which were previously controlled by past Venezuelan leaders, many of whom have been indicted. Interestingly, some of these fields had interests held by China. If the U.S. gets a piece of the action, Caracas would benefit from private firms, including U.S. oil majors, developing the fields, which would bring in more oil revenue for the South American country.
The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Washington Vows Firm Grip on Venezuelan Oil
This isn't coming out of nowhere. Back in January, after the U.S. captured Nicolas Maduro, Energy Secretary Chris Wright made it clear that Washington intended to keep a tight hold on Venezuela's oil industry. He said the U.S. would oversee the sale of Venezuela's oil production "indefinitely." "We will sell the production that comes out of Venezuela into the marketplace," Wright stated.
Wright also emphasized that the revenue generated would be reinvested in Venezuela for the benefit of its people. He explained that the U.S. would supply diluent to restart production, allow imports of parts and services to stabilize the industry, and eventually create conditions for output growth and renewed investment by major American companies.
And the wheels are already turning. In April, Chevron Corp (CVX) agreed to an asset swap with Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) to strengthen its huge oil position in the country. Under that deal, Chevron will boost its stake in Petroindependencia to 49% and gain rights to develop the Ayacucho 8 area near the Petropiar project in the Orinoco Oil Belt.
Venezuela wouldn't be the first to leave OPEC recently. The United Arab Emirates, the third-largest oil producer in the cartel, exited in May, saying its production policy and capacity aligned with its national interests. Now, with Venezuela potentially following suit, OPEC's grip on global oil markets could be loosening even further.
