Washington DC [US], September 2 (ANI): Washington has finalised a strategic agreement giving the United States a direct ownership stake in Venezuelan oil fields, previously influenced by Chinese and Russian corporations.Executed through the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital and partnered with a private operating firm linked to Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, the deal secures long-term US energy supplies, allows crude purchases at cost, and aims to anchor a Western Hemisphere-aligned economy in Venezuela.The block had previously been under Chinese and Russian corporate influence and holds an estimated 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, a fraction, officials noted, of Venezuela’s total reserves, which they put at more than double that amount and available for further outside investment.”Geopolitics is often not the choice between the ideal and the imperfect. It is often, you’re trying to navigate what’s the best outcome, and you have to work with the factors that you have in place,” the official told reporters.Concurrently, this shift carries significant implications for global energy markets, particularly for India, a major importer with refineries specifically equipped to process Venezuela’s heavy crude as it diversifies away from Gulf disruptions while balancing relations with Washington, Moscow, and Beijing.US officials framed the deal as a vital manoeuvre to pull Venezuela’s energy resources out of Chinese and Russian orbits, securing an estimated 65 billion barrels of proven reserves from prior foreign corporate influence.The agreement runs through the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital and involves private corporate structures rather than direct state engagement. Additionally, Chevron is expected to announce an expansion of its Venezuelan operations during a visit by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright.The agreement runs through the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital, a Biden-era statutory body that officials say has taken equity positions elsewhere before. Notably, the deal was struck not with Venezuela’s interim government but with a privately held, foreign-registered operating company. That company is closely tied to Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, whom officials called the country’s largest private oil operator and one of the few whose fields kept running through the crisis. Betancourt has been dogged by corruption allegations tied to the Maduro era and by investigations in Europe; officials defended working with him, noting his past backing of opposition leader Juan Guaido, the absence of US charges against him, and their claim that much of the European scrutiny stemmed from information the US itself had provided.”I’m not nominating anyone for sainthood here. What I am telling you is that this is a person that, in the past, has been helpful to the United States government,” the official said.Officials defended working with Alejandro Betancourt, noting his operational resilience and past support for the opposition, while maintaining that strengthening the oil sector prevents total economic collapse, drawing lessons from troubled democratic transitions in Bolivia and Nicaragua.They pointed to Bolivia’s US-aligned president, now struggling against inherited corruption and economic collapse, as a scenario they hope to avoid in Venezuela. They also cited Nicaragua’s 1990s experience Violeta Chamorro’s election win that collapsed within years, paving the way for Ortega and the Sandinistas’ return as evidence that Venezuela needs strong institutions (a free press, rebuilt parties, credible elections), not just a single vote.Talks involving Venezuela’s 2015 National Assembly and its recognised leadership are due to resume for a third round in September, though officials wouldn’t commit to an election timeline, saying only that they want the process to move faster than Paraguay’s multi-year transition. It has now been nine months since Maduro’s removal, and officials say they want progress soon, but only once institutional groundwork is in place.On the legal side, officials said the Pentagon’s equity stake fits within the OSC’s existing statutory authority and isn’t unprecedented. They sidestepped questions about how this squares with Venezuela’s constitutional rule that the state owns hydrocarbon resources, saying only that the deal was structured through private, legally insulated corporate entities rather than directly with the state. They confirmed more mid-sized private investment deals are in the works alongside Chevron’s expansion.India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas views Venezuela as a traditional supplier with heavy crude ideal for India’s complex refiners.According to ONGC Chairman and CEO Arun Kumar Singh, India’s oil imports from the US and Venezuela remain heavily dependent on prevailing crude prices, meaning any shifts in Venezuelan output or geopolitical alignment will directly factor into India’s strategic balancing act between Washington, Moscow, and Beijing. (ANI)(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)