US signs Venezuelan oilfield development deal with US firm

The Trump administration has signed an agreement with North American Blue Energy Partners to develop Venezuelan oil fields, according to Reuters. The White House says the deal grants the company 100-year concessions over 17 oilfields holding about 65 billion barrels of proven reserves. The arrangement follows the capture of Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces in January, after which the U.S.-backed interim Venezuelan government changed legal and regulatory frameworks to attract foreign investment. Chevron has separately pledged more than $7 billion to raise Venezuelan output to roughly 600,000 barrels per day by 2031.