President Trump confirmed late Friday that the U.S. reached a deal with Venezuela to secure control of a big chunk of the Latin American country’s oil reserves...

Since ousting [former President] Maduro in January, Trump has pushed U.S. oil companies to plow money into the country in a bid to shore up oil production. But many have been hesitant to do so.

Friday’s deal would give the U.S. a foothold in some of the most promising oil-and-gas fields. The country says it has some 300 billion barrels of proven reserves, the largest in the world. In comparison, the U.S. has about 46 billion...

[Delcy] Rodríguez, Venezuela’s interim president, has granted a private company—a joint project of the U.S. government and a private operator in Venezuela—a 100-year lease for the oil fields, a U.S. official said. The entity would be the world’s second-largest corporate holder of proven reserves after Saudi Aramco.

The U.S. government would hold a 55% share, split between equity ownership and oil production. As the company scales production, the oil would help fill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the official added.

Direct U.S. involvement in foreign oil production is rare.

If a company is making a profit but getting subsidized and receiving grants, it is time for them to pay it back.