Why the U.S.-Venezuela oil deal is one election away from collapsing The first million barrels of oil from this year's U.S.-Venezuela deal have arrived in Texas — a cargo that Trump gleefully called a "free gift" — but the future of the deals is far from certain, with elections in both countries threatening to undo it. At the center is North American Blue Energy Partners, a Barbados-registered company partially owned by the US government through 35% of the Pentagon's shares and led by Alejandro Betancourt, a Venezuelan businessman whose name has come up in corruption investigations in many jurisdictions. Production rises: A sixth oil rig is deployed, and the company says its fields in western Venezuela are producing 115,000 barrels a day. But operating in a country where more than a quarter of the population fled is proving difficult - skilled oil workers are rare, and luring them back from abroad is a struggle. The bigger threat is political. "We don't know if this contract will survive the change of administration in the US," said Michael McCarthy of political risk firm Crax Wire. Democrats have demanded answers about how the administration cooperated with Bettencourt — described in a letter from three ranking Democrats as an "alleged money launderer who is under active criminal investigation" — and will likely investigate the deal if they win the midterm elections. Venezuela's own transition adds uncertainty: Maria Corina Machado, the country's most popular leader, returned in late October after nearly a year in exile, saying Bettencourt would not be a viable economic partner, accusing him of "obscene corruption" (he denies wrongdoing and has never been indicted). The stake goes far beyond one company. Trump described the arrangement as "the largest oil deal in world history," granting 100-year concessions to 17 fields with about 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, while the State Department guaranteed the right to buy 20% of output at a price.

Why the U.S.-Venezuela oil deal is one election away from collapsing The first million barrels of oil from this year's U.S.-Venezuela deal have arrived in Texas — a cargo that Trump gleefully called a "free gift" — but the future of the deals is far from certain, with elections in both countries threatening to undo it. At the center is North American Blue Energy Partners, a Barbados-registered company partially owned by the US government through 35% of the Pentagon's shares and led by Alejandro Betancourt, a Venezuelan businessman whose name has come up in corruption investigations in many jurisdictions. Production rises: A sixth oil rig is deployed, and the company says its fields in western Venezuela are producing 115,000 barrels a day. But operating in a country where more than a quarter of the population fled is proving difficult - skilled oil workers are rare, and luring them back from abroad is a struggle. The bigger threat is political. "We don't know if this contract will survive the change of administration in the US," said Michael McCarthy of political risk firm Crax Wire. Democrats have demanded answers about how the administration cooperated with Bettencourt — described in a letter from three ranking Democrats as an "alleged money launderer who is under active criminal investigation" — and will likely investigate the deal if they win the midterm elections. Venezuela's own transition adds uncertainty: Maria Corina Machado, the country's most popular leader, returned in late October after nearly a year in exile, saying Bettencourt would not be a viable economic partner, accusing him of "obscene corruption" (he denies wrongdoing and has never been indicted). The stake goes far beyond one company. Trump described the arrangement as "the largest oil deal in world history," granting 100-year concessions to 17 fields with about 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, while the State Department guaranteed the right to buy 20% of output at a price.