Venezuela weighs OPEC exit as U.S. discusses oil stake

Venezuela is considering whether it should quit OPEC , according to people familiar with the matter, potentially delivering a fresh blow to the oil cartel it helped create more than six decades ago.

The idea of an exit has been a topic in conversations with U.S. officials, and no final decision has been made, said some of the people, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

A decision to pull out of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries would underline the sweeping political realignment in Caracas since U.S. President Donald Trump ousted the longtime leader Nicolás Maduro and took control of the nation’s oil sales.

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Washington’s growing influence is also reflected in U.S. talks with Venezuelan leaders to take a large stake in the nation’s oil fields — a development that would have been unthinkable just two years ago.

Negotiators from both countries are discussing that proposal, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Some of them said a possible arrangement that has been discussed is a 100-year-lease on several oil fields.

A White House spokesperson had no immediate comment on the possible OPEC move. The White House also declined to comment on the oil field negotiations, which were first reported by Axios. The Venezuelan Information Ministry didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Taking a stake in Venezuela’s oil reserves would mark an almost unprecedented intervention by the U.S. in another country’s economy, but it’s also in keeping with Trump’s so-called Donroe Doctrine of extending American influence in the Western Hemisphere.

He has described Venezuela as the 51st state and said the U.S. controls its oil.