Four senior Senate Democrats told a senior Trump aide they doubt the legal and prudential basis of a Pentagon plan for the department to passively hold a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), and warned the deal could undermine efforts to promote a democratic transition in Venezuela. NABEP would gain control of 17 oil blocks tied to Venezuela’s second-largest producer, reportedly holding about 65 billion barrels of oil. Under the proposal the State Department would have a pri

Four senior Senate Democrats told a senior Trump aide they doubt the legal and prudential basis of a Pentagon plan for the department to passively hold a 35% stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), and warned the deal could undermine efforts to promote a democratic transition in Venezuela. NABEP would gain control of 17 oil blocks tied to Venezuela’s second-largest producer, reportedly holding about 65 billion barrels of oil. Under the proposal the State Department would have a priority right to buy 20% of production at cost. The senators asked the administration to publish the agreement and terms before finalizing the deal, explain the legal authority for using the Pentagon’s Strategic Capital Office to acquire foreign oil equity, and detail how the State Department would finance purchases of the output.