Trump admin in talks for US stake in Venezuela oil—report

NEW YORK, United States (AFP)—United States (US) President Donald Trump’s administration is in talks with Venezuela’s interim government about the United States taking an ownership stake in the South American country’s vast oil resources, the news site Axios reported Thursday.

The discussions involve more than a dozen productive oil fields with 90 billion barrels of proven reserves — about a third of Venezuela’s total proven reserves of 300 billion barrels, the report said, citing two unnamed US officials.

In return for a US ownership stake, private companies, including American firms, would develop the fields and return more oil revenue to Venezuela, according to Axios.