An 18-page agreement giving the US broad access to Venezuela’s oil reserves hands Washington a 35% stake in an oil venture while paying almost nothing upfront, ProPublica reported on October 20 after reviewing a copy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth signed for the US, alongside Alejandro Betancourt, CEO of North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), and Orlando Alvarado, signing for a Barbados-registered parent company whom the administration had not publicly named.

Under the terms, the US gets 20% of NABEP’s oil at a discounted $30 a barrel and first rights to the remaining output for 50 years, paying one cent per warrant share for its stake. A seven-member board with a US-citizen majority governs for an initial 15 years, and removing Betancourt as CEO requires a five-vote supermajority. ProPublica notes the $30 price excludes blending costs, and the deal does not explicitly require the roughly $200 billion in royalties and taxes the White House has cited.

NABEP produces about 200,000 barrels a day and targets 500,000 by the end of 2028. Senate Democrats argue most fields are not ready for production. Betancourt has been investigated for money laundering in several countries but has not been charged; NABEP calls the claims baseless.

Read the original story at ProPublica.