Venezuela unveils new oil, mining deals under US blessing

Washington and Caracas unveiled new agreements Wednesday for oil and gold extraction in the South American country on the sidelines of a G20 summit hosted by the United States.

US oil company Continental Resources, founded by Howard Hamm, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Venezuelan national oil company PDVSA to operate and develop a block in the prolific Orinoco heavy-oil basin.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright called the oil project "a milestone deal in the US-Venezuelan relationship," as well as "a milestone deal in making the Western Hemisphere the center of the global energy system." Officials also announced a new accord involving Henney Capital to develop gold in Venezuela.

The oil tract, the Ayacucho 2 Block, encompasses approximately 126,000 acres and holds an estimated 30 billion barrels oil, according to a Continental press release.