Vice President JD Vance just floated a possibility that could turn President Trump’s historic Venezuelan oil deal into something Americans feel in their own wallets.

Cheaper gasoline and a stronger Strategic Petroleum Reserve were already on the table.

Vance says the agreement may position the American people to receive some of the oil royalties directly.

That comment came during Thursday’s White House press briefing. The reaction was immediate:

Vance described the agreement as the product of President Trump’s Venezuela operation and the relationships that followed it.

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American companies, he explained, will be able to develop the fields, increase production and generate a tremendous amount of oil revenue.

More supply should put downward pressure on energy prices. Venezuela is also expected to receive substantial revenue from the arrangement.

Then Vance delivered the line that grabbed everyone’s attention.

He said the agreement sets America up so that the public will “directly receive some of the royalties as well.”

“It’s good for the American taxpayer,” Vance added.

Watch the broader answer from the White House briefing here:

That is a remarkable possibility. It is also important to be precise about what Vance did and did not announce.

He did not unveil a check amount, a dividend formula, eligibility rules or a payment date. He did not say whether the money would be distributed through tax relief, direct payments, a new public fund or some other mechanism.

For now, the direct-royalty idea is a major signal from the vice president, not a completed payment program.

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The underlying economic stake, however, is very real.

The White House says the deal gives the United States majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan oil reserves. That is larger than America’s roughly 46 billion barrels of proven territorial reserves.

North American Blue Energy Partners, known as NABEP, will operate 17 fields under long-term concessions. Washington receives economic ownership, strong governance rights and the ability to block board appointments.

The State Department is guaranteed the right to buy 20 percent of production at cost. It also gets first refusal on the remaining 80 percent, creating a major Western Hemisphere supply lane for emergencies, military needs and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The administration says the agreement costs American taxpayers nothing. NABEP plans to raise private capital and invest as much as $100 billion in Venezuelan oil infrastructure.

The royalty structure described publicly before Vance’s briefing focused on Venezuela. The White House projects roughly $200 billion in royalty and tax payments to Venezuelan governments over the first 25 years, with American oversight intended to keep that money tied to reconstruction and social development.

Vance’s comment appears to point to an additional American benefit flowing from the United States’ ownership position. The administration has not yet published the details connecting that stake to direct public royalties.

That missing piece matters. A government asset can benefit taxpayers in several ways without producing literal individual royalty checks.

Revenue could reduce federal costs, support energy security, offset future spending or be placed in a public dividend structure. Until the administration releases a mechanism, nobody should pretend the form of the benefit has been settled.

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The Associated Press reported that the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital will hold a 35 percent ownership stake in NABEP. Venezuela has granted the company 100-year rights covering the 17 fields.

The company is already one of Venezuela’s largest private operators, behind Chevron. The scale of the reserves is enormous, but much of the infrastructure needs years of investment after prolonged neglect and underproduction.

That means the deal’s biggest gains will not all arrive at once. President Trump has acknowledged that lower prices could take time, while the White House says material production could begin flowing to the United States as early as next year.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright called the signing a transformative beginning:

Townhall also reported Vance’s royalty remark from the briefing and his description of the arrangement as a win for Venezuelans, American gas buyers and taxpayers.

The political argument is easy to understand. The Biden administration burned through a huge portion of America’s emergency oil cushion in an attempt to suppress prices, leaving the reserve far below where it stood when Biden took office.

President Trump answered by securing control and preferential access to a reserve base that dwarfs America’s own proven supply. Now his vice president is suggesting the public ownership component may pay Americans more directly than anyone initially understood.

If the administration turns that promise into a clear, durable royalty system, it could become one of the most tangible America First features of the entire deal.

Vance opened the door. The next step is explaining exactly how Americans walk through it.

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Featured image: Official White House video still.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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