US may lease some Venezuelan oil fields for 100 years — Bloomberg

NEW YORK, August 28. /TASS/. The United States is discussing with Caracas the possibility of leasing some Venezuelan oil fields for 100 years, Bloomberg reported, citing sources.

According to the sources, the terms of the deal have not yet been finalized and could change. If an agreement is reached, it could amount to a virtually unprecedented US intervention in another country’s economy, the agency said.

Axios previously reported, citing US officials, that the US administration was close to reaching an agreement with Venezuelan authorities under which some of the country’s oil and gas resources would become US property. The report noted that the deal would more than double US oil reserves. It added that negotiations concerned more than a dozen oil fields in Venezuela where production could reach 90 mln barrels per day.

On January 3, the United States attacked civilian and military facilities in Venezuela, captured President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and took them out of the country. On January 5, they appeared before the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. They are accused of involvement in drug trafficking. Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty. Delcy Rodriguez, who served as Venezuela’s executive vice president under Maduro, is currently acting as the country’s head of state.