Venezuela moved closer to breaking with OPEC on Sunday, days after President Donald Trump announced a deal granting the United States access to more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves. The development threatened the cohesion of the cartel Caracas helped create in 1960.

The agreement hands US and allied firms majority stakes in developing Venezuela's heavy-crude reserves in the Orinoco Belt. Venezuelan oil ministry officials indicated the arrangement could push Caracas to reconsider its production commitments to OPEC, which restrict how much member states may pump.

Venezuela's oil ministry has long chafed against quotas that capped output while the country's economy collapsed under sanctions and hyperinflation. A pivot toward US-backed investment would require pumping far above OPEC-agreed levels, placing Caracas in direct conflict with Saudi Arabia and other core members that police the group's supply discipline.

Analysts at Rystad Energy and Energy Aspects warned that a Venezuelan exit would weaken OPEC's ability to defend prices, adding barrels to a market already pressured by rising output from Iraq and other members seeking higher quotas. Brent crude has traded in a narrow band as traders assess the potential supply surge.

The deal also carries geopolitical weight, reversing years of American sanctions policy toward President Nicolás Maduro's government. Washington framed the arrangement as securing hemispheric energy supply, while critics questioned the durability of any partnership built on Venezuela's troubled production infrastructure.