US seeking a deal to make Venezuela its gas pump – media

Washington could gain access to 90 billion barrels of oil reserves, while Caracas is weighing an OPEC exit The US is moving to lock in long-term access to the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves by discussing a 100-year deal with Venezuela, as Caracas plans to leave the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), several outlets have reported.

The idea of quitting OPEC has been discussed during talks with US officials, according to Bloomberg’s sources, although no final decision has been made.

Venezuela was one of five countries that founded OPEC in 1960, alongside Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

It has effectively operated outside the group’s production quota system for years, while decades of US sanctions and domestic economic turmoil have battered its oil industry and diminished its influence within the organization.

A withdrawal from OPEC would mark a major realignment in Caracas following the January 3 US operation that kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Washington has since taken control of Venezuelan oil sales and revenues, with proceeds deposited into US-controlled accounts and Caracas’ access to the funds subject to decisions in Washington.

Read more Placing Venezuelan gold under US control would set ‘terrible precedent’ – ex-IMF official (VIDEO) The US is also seeking a steady flow of Venezuelan crude to its refineries while encouraging American companies to expand their presence in the country’s energy industry.

Venezuela currently produces around 1.25 million barrels of crude per day, well below its historic output.

US pushing for ‘massive’ century-long oil lease Talk of a potential OPEC exit comes as Washington pushes for a major stake in Venezuela’s oil fields.

A deal under discussion could lock in several fields for American companies under a 100-year lease and guarantee the resulting crude supplies to the US.

“This is real and being discussed at the highest levels of the US and Venezuelan governments,” one source told Reuters.

A lease is among the legal models under consideration, with individual fields potentially allocated to US producers through auctions or tenders.

A list involved in the negotiations includes 17 fields, spanning undeveloped sites in the vast Orinoco Belt and mature fields around Lake Maracaibo containing roughly 90 billion barrels of proven reserves.

Some are currently operated by a small Chinese company under a contract signed during Maduro’s presidency.