NEW YORK, Sept. 1– The U.S. government released details of its oil deal with Venezuela in a fact sheet posted on the White House website on Monday, after President Donald Trump announced the agreement.
Under the agreement, Venezuelan interim authorities have granted North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a privately held company and the country’s second-largest private oil producer, 100-year concessions for 17 oil fields with proven reserves of approximately 65 billion barrels.
In turn, NABEP has granted the U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital a 35 percent equity stake in its corporate parent. The company has also granted the U.S. Department of State the right to purchase, at production cost, 20 percent of the output from all current and future fields it operates, as well as the right of first refusal to purchase the remaining 80 percent.
The U.S. government will have veto power over the appointment of any member of NABEP’s board of directors, while a majority of the board members must be U.S. citizens, according to the fact sheet. The agreement between the U.S. government and NABEP is governed by U.S. law and subject to the jurisdiction of U.S. courts.
The fact sheet said millions of barrels of new Venezuelan output would be processed through U.S. refineries and pumped using American rigs and infrastructure.
The U.S. government said the deal would come “at zero cost” to American taxpayers.
Trump is scheduled to meet Tuesday with directors of large and small oil refineries, reports said on Monday.
Brent crude oil price has surged around 28 percent amid U.S. military operation against Iran. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
