The US government will take a passive 35% stake in a private Venezuelan oil company led by Alejandro Betancourt and acquire preferential commercial rights, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal grants Betancourt’s North American Blue Energy Partners long-term (up to 100-year) development rights on 17 fields said to contain about 65 bln barrels—roughly one-fifth of Venezuela’s reserves—and gives Washington a priority right to buy 20% of production at cost. US officials moved to become a direc

The US government will take a passive 35% stake in a private Venezuelan oil company led by Alejandro Betancourt and acquire preferential commercial rights, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal grants Betancourt’s North American Blue Energy Partners long-term (up to 100-year) development rights on 17 fields said to contain about 65 bln barrels—roughly one-fifth of Venezuela’s reserves—and gives Washington a priority right to buy 20% of production at cost. US officials moved to become a direct investor after US energy firms declined to invest at the speed and scale sought by the administration, according to people involved in negotiations.