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Trump’s Venezuela oil venture eyes 150% output hike by 2028
North American Blue Energy Partners is aiming to increase production to 500,000 barrels a day
Petroleos de Venezuela SA oil rigs on Lake Maracaibo in Cabimas, Zulia state, Venezuela, on Sept. 4. (Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg)
Key Takeaways:
- North American Blue Energy Partners plans to raise Venezuelan crude output to 500,000 barrels a day by the end of 2028 from about 200,000.
- The administration-backed deal grants NABEP a 100-year concession on 17 fields with an estimated 65 billion barrels of proved reserves.
- NABEP said outside investment tied to its U.S. partnership will accelerate growth as Washington seeks longer-term relief from high fuel prices.
North American Blue Energy Partners, the Trump administration-backed driller for Venezuelan oil, plans to more than double crude output in just over two years.
NABEP is aiming to increase production to 500,000 barrels a day by the end of 2028 from about 200,000 currently. Until now, supply increases have been funded with internal cash flow. Any outside investment will help accelerate growth, the company said in an email to Bloomberg News.
NABEP rose to prominence in recent weeks when the Trump administration signed what it called “the biggest oil deal in world history.” Under terms of the pact, NABEP won a 100-year concessions to drill 17 fields holding an estimated 65 billion barrels of proved reserves.
The agreement with the U.S. government “only accelerates the trajectory” of NABEP’s growth plan, the company said.
Increasing Venezuelan oil output has become one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities as gasoline and diesel costs soared in the wake of the Iran conflict.
Although it’s improbable that crude production in the Latin American nation will surge quickly enough to tamp down retail fuel prices before the November elections, the administration is keen to show it’s working to keep prices in check over the longer term.
FACT SHEET: President Donald J. Trump Announces Historic Oil Agreement to Secure American Energy Dominance and Drive Venezuela’s Economic Recoveryhttps://t.co/IIhb65hpTo
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 31, 2026
Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) oil rigs on Lake Maracaibo in Cabimas, Zulia state, Venezuela, on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026. US President Donald Trump is framing the deal for a US stake in Venezuelan oil as a victory that will lower gasoline prices and replenish depleted crude reserves. Photographer: Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg
NABEP, a little-known company outside of the oil industry until last month, has expanded production more than tenfold over the past two years. It is now Venezuela’s second-largest private oil producer behind Chevron Corp., which last week announced its own plans to increase output in the country.
Until now, NABEP’s growth has been financed by “significant free cash flow” from its Venezuelan wells, it said.
“Prior to our deal with the U.S. government, we were already on track to continue that momentum,” the company said. “This partnership, and the outside investment it will usher in, only accelerates the trajectory we have been on.”
The unprecedented deal between the U.S. government and NABEP is a high-stakes gambit by the Trump administration. Frustrated that international giants such as ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. and ConocoPhillips weren’t moving quickly enough, the U.S. agreed to partner with NABEP and its CEO Alejandro Betancourt to strike the deal with Venezuelan regime that succeeded deposed strongman Nicolas Maduro.
The deal blindsided many in the oil industry who were surprised at the U.S. government taking a 35% equity stake in the project. But supporters say it will help ramp up production quickly while the involvement of the U.S. government should reassure other investors that they money will be safe in the long run.
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An entrepreneur who amassed a fortune during the late Hugo Chávez’s rule, Betancourt won government contracts to provide emergency power equipment from 2009 and later moved into the oil business. With high-level relationships in Caracas, Moscow and Washington, Betancourt’s businesses helped pioneer a more flexible contract structure that has become the model for many of the new deals being offered by the government.
He faced years of investigations in Europe, the U.S. and Venezuela over allegations of money laundering and tax fraud but has denied wrongdoing and was never charged with a crime.
