Topline
Billionaire Coinbase co-founder and ally of President Donald Trump, Fred Ehrsam, is reportedly seeking to take over three oil fields in Venezuela where the U.S. government is considering pushing out their current operators—the latest potential shakeup in Venezuela’s oil industry as Trump seeks to restructure it.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright (R) greets Venezuela’s Sectoral Vice President for Economy and Finance Calixto Ortega (L) as he arrives for a meeting at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas on September 2, 2026. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright visits Venezuela to finalize an agreement after US President Donald Trump announced that the United States will take a majority stake in 65 billion barrels of Venezuela’s oil reserves, in what he described as “the largest oil deal in history.” (Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Ehrsam is eyeing fields operated by Venezuelan Alvorda Heavy Industries Ltda, as Trump seeks to push out operators installed under President Nicolas Maduro, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.
Primavera, a firm co-founded by Ehrsam, is among several companies set to sign energy agreements in Venezuela as soon as Wednesday, in conjunction with Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s visit to Caracas, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources.
Chevron, ENI and KEO Capital are also expected to sign agreements, most of which center around project expansions under the sweeping oil reforms passed by Venezuelan lawmakers in January, shortly after the Trump administration captured Maduro and announced a massive reconstruction plan for the country’s oil industry.
Chevron is planning to invest more than $7 billion to more than double crude production to about 600,000 barrels per day over the next five years as part of a joint venture with Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA, the company said Wednesday.
The deals expected to be signed Wednesday are separate from a new agreement the Trump administration announced last week that involves the U.S. holding a 35% ownership stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, the second-largest operator in Venezuela owned by controversial Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt.
The deal grants NABEP 100-year rights over 17 oil fields with reserves of 65 billion barrels and guarantees the U.S. the right to purchase 20% of the output at production cost.
How is Ehrsam connected to Trump?
Ehrsam, who was Coinbase’s president until 2017 before founding crypto investment firm Paragdigm, personally gave $1 million to Trump’s 2025 inaugural fund and Coinbase donated $1 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission dropped a civil suit filed under the Biden administration against Coinbase in February 2025. Ehrsam also serves as an adviser on Trump’s science and technology council, alongside other tech billionaires.
How is Betancourt connected to Trump?
Betancourt reportedly played a key role in removing Maduro from power and installing Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to replace him, according to Axios. Betancourt has been working as an intermediary between Maduro’s opposition and Venezuelan political figures to oust Maduro since Trump’s first term, according to Axios. Trump ally Rudy Giuliani also represented Betancourt when he was the subject of a Justice Department money-laundering investigation in 2019, according to The Washington Post.
What oil reforms were approved by Venezuela in January?
The changes were designed to give oil producers more autonomy and encourage foreign investment after decades of strict government control. The reforms aim to increase transparency surrounding production sharing agreements between oil firms and the government entered into under Maduro and open up the possibility of transferring assets owned by PDVSA and oil fields they control to new operators and investors.
What else do we know about the oil deal with NABEP and Venezuela Trump announced last week?
In what the Trump administration has called the “the biggest oil deal in history,” the agreement gives the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital a stake in about a fifth of Venezuela’s oil reserves. Many of the oilfields NABEP will take over were previously controlled by Chinese companies and a Russian firm, according to multiple reports. NABEP has also agreed to invest $100 billion in new oil infrastructure as part of the agreement. The U.S. government will have veto power over appointment of any member to the NABEP board of directors and said a majority of its members must be U.S. citizens. The agreement isn’t expected to immediately reduce gas prices in the U.S. or immediately revive Venezuela’s struggling oil industry, and could face opposition from future administrations after Rodriguez and Trump leave office.
Leave a comment