Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTCharles KennedyFri, September 4, 2026 at 2:00 AM GMT+2 5 min readFor decades, Venezuela has been one of China's most important partners in Latin America and the largest recipient of Chinese government funds in Latin America, with Beijing lending Caracas tens of billions of dollars and accepting oil as repayment. Chinese policy banks provided it with at least $60 billion in oil-backed financing through 2015, while broader estimates of Chinese lending and investment commitments exceed $100 billion. Analysts estimate that Caracas still owes Chinese lenders at least $10 billion.Recovering that money was never going to be easy, but Trump's new arrangement for Venezuelan oil will make it even more challenging for Beijing because a sizable chunk of the country's future oil production will now be under the control of U.S.-aligned interests. Last week's multibillion-dollar agreement with North American Blue Energy Partners, or NABEP, to expand production and commercialize Venezuela's enormous petroleum reserves includes fields previously operated or pursued by Chinese companies and a Russian firm.NABEP, formerly owned by U.S. oil tycoon Harry Sargeant and now controlled by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, says it plans to invest as much as $100 billion in Venezuelan oil infrastructure.According to the White House and NABEP, the company has received 100-year rights over 17 fields in the Lake Maracaibo region and the Orinoco Belt. Those fields contain an estimated 65 billion barrels of proven reserves (about one-fifth of Venezuela's total). The arrangement would give the U.S. government rights to a 35% stake in NABEP's corporate parent and access to 20% of its production at cost. Washington would also have the right of first refusal on the remaining output. NABEP says the development could generate more than $200 billion in taxes and royalties for Venezuela over its first 25 years.