Trump says Venezuela sent him 1 million barrels of oil as a ‘gift.’ But the U.S. is reportedly paying for it

President Donald Trump said Venezuela sent him 1 million barrels of oil as “a gift” while campaigning in Texas. The shipment has since arrived at a Texas port, but the deal behind it suggests the oil wasn’t simply handed over for free.

According to The Washington Post, Trump made the remark while welcoming the Venezuelan crude. He linked the delivery to what he described as the U.S. takeover of the country. “We took over Venezuela very successfully and they’ve sent me as a gift a boatload of a million barrels of oil and I’m going to give that to the United States of America,” Trump told reporters.

Under the agreement, the U.S. has the right to purchase 20% of the supplier’s crude at $30 a barrel, less than a third of the current market price. Two people familiar with the shipment disclosed the terms anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

The deal behind the ‘Gift’

The supplier is North American Blue Energy Partners, or NABEP, a company controlled by Venezuelan billionaire Alejandro Betancourt. The shipment is the first under a contract signed in August. Oil experts said the deal is not expected to have a significant effect on U.S. gas prices.

The U.S. government plans to sell the oil to refineries operated by Exxon Mobil and Venezuelan-owned Citgo Petroleum, Reuters reported. A White House official told the outlet the government received the shipment “at no cost.”

NABEP initially described the shipment as part of Washington’s right to buy 20% of production at cost, with no markup. The company later updated its statement to say the cargo came at no cost to U.S. taxpayers “to recognize the historic nature of the agreement.” The statements leave questions about how the deal’s terms applied to this particular shipment.

The deal follows the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces on Jan. 3. Trump has since backed Maduro’s No. 2, Delcy Rodriguez, as interim president. He had previously outlined plans to expand U.S. access to Venezuela’s oil before this shipment arrived.

Under the pact, Washington gets a 35% stake in NABEP’s parent company and discounted access to its crude. NABEP also received 14 additional oilfields, on top of the three it already controlled, without a competitive process.

NABEP said its output reached 223,509 barrels of oil equivalent per day as of Oct. 19, up from about 18,000 two years earlier. Betancourt said the cargo reached Texas in just over a week, compared with more than a month for crude from the Middle East. “This first shipment since the US-NABEP deal will be followed by thousands of such arrivals,” Betancourt said in the company’s statement.

Trump went further on Truth Social, calling it the “first shipment of BILLIONS of Barrels to come.” He has previously discussed plans involving 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil, a much smaller figure than the volume he has now claimed could arrive.

Fuel costs are a potential vulnerability for Republicans ahead of the midterm elections. In Texas, Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton faces Democrat James Talarico in a closely watched race that could help determine control of the Senate.

“We’re celebrating the greatest oil victory in history. To the victor belongs the spoils, right?” Trump said. He also praised oil executive Harold Hamm, who attended the event, and recalled Hamm describing Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. “You know how you find oil in Venezuela? You look on the ground. There it is,” Trump said.