Bloomberg: The US cannot find $100 billion for an oil deal with Venezuela

The US oil deal and Venezuela's $100 billion worth is being questioned due to uncertainty about funding sources. Washington has not yet explained who exactly and under what conditions it is ready to invest these funds in the destroyed infrastructure of the republic, Bloomberg writes.

On August 29, US President Donald Trump announced that Washington had agreed to control more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil through a partnership with private business. According to Trump, the agreement with Venezuela will more than double the US oil reserves, increase the supply of oil and, in the long run, lower gasoline prices.

Trump's initiative was a response to the administration's growing frustration with the pace of the private sector. According to sources close to the situation, the president was dissatisfied with the fact that the oil giants are not showing sufficient efficiency in expanding production in Venezuela.

The issue of financing remains "unanswered" — although the White House emphasizes that these funds will not be withdrawn "from taxpayers' pockets," the source of their origin remains unclear.

As Bloomberg notes, the private operator working with the United States under this deal, North American Blue Energy Partners, does not have sufficient scale to independently provide such a volume of capital investments. This raises fears that the project could repeat the fate of other major Trump initiatives, such as the Gaza peace plan or the cease-fire agreement with Iran, which have not brought real results.

At the same time, the Director of Latin American Energy Policy in Rice University's Francisco Monaldi notes that many of the declared reserves are not "properly validated."

In addition, the implementation of the project will require many years and enormous costs for the restoration of infrastructure and energy supply, which goes beyond Trump's term of office (until January 2029).

However, Bloomberg emphasizes, the political benefits are obvious: on the eve of the midterm elections in November, the administration is under tremendous pressure. Vice President J.D. Vance has already begun to use this narrative, stating that the growth of production in Venezuela contributes to the stabilization of crude oil prices, RBC reminds