Venezuela is known for having the world’s largest certified oil reserves, as well as significant deposits of natural gas, iron, bauxite, copper, coltan, cassiterite, and other minerals. In the picture, the refining complex of El Palito in the Venezuelan state of Carabobo. Photo: Guacamaya.
Guacamaya, October 10, 2025. The government of Nicolás Maduro would have offered the United States a dominant stake in Venezuela’s oil and mineral wealth in discussions that lasted for months, in order to stave off a military escalation, according to a recent New York Times article.
The U.S.-based newspaper previously reported that Trump had called off negotiations with Maduro, choosing instead to escalate militarily.
In negotiations between Special Presidential Envoy Richard Grenell and Venezuelan government officials, it was proposed to open up oil and gold projects to American companies, which would receive preferential contracts, and to redirect the flow of crude oil exports from China to the United States.
The talks took place alongside a large U.S. military deployment in the Eastern Caribbean to fight “narco-terrorism,” while Maduro has been branded the head of a “narco-terror cartel” by the Trump administration.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado is be making a simultaneous offer to the U.S. government and business, claiming that Venezuela offers a $1.7 trillion opportunity in the next 15 years, if the current government is deposed and she is able to implement her programme.
The article referenced that it had spoken to multiple U.S. and Venezuelan officials on condition of anonymity, while the State Department, the White House, Venezuela’s government Grenell all declined to comment.
After Shell received a Treasury Department license to move forward in Venezuela-Trinidad gas projects, Maduro would have signed a stipulation so the company would invest in social projects instead of paying taxes directly.
The article also mentioned that the Venezuelan government has tried to repair relations with ConocoPhillips, which left the country in 2007 during a nationalisations spree.
Venezuela’s natural resource wealth
Allowing American companies back into Venezuela with privileges could be tempting to U.S. officials, while they could pursue supporting either of the two political factions.
The South American country has an impressive energy potential with the world’s largest certified oil reserves, amounting to 303 billion barrels or 17.5% of the globe’s total; and the seventh-largest natural gas reserves, which are 221 trillion cubic feet, equating to almost 80% of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Venezuela also has significant deposits of metals and strategic minerals like gold, iron, copper, bauxite, coltan, and cassiterite. Some of these minerals are becoming especially coveted in the global race to secure supply chains, although mining in the country is mostly done at a surface level.
