North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP), a U.S. oil company controlled by Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt, will take over some Venezuelan oilfields previously operated by five Chinese companies and a Russian firm under an oil production agreement announced by President Donald Trump. The Venezuelan government is expected to newly grant NABEP 14 contracts, giving it control of 17 projects in total that it plans to develop and ultimately use to supply oil to the United States. The arrangement follows Trump’s announcement last week that the U.S. had secured access to about 64 billion barrels of Venezuela’s proven oil reserves through a partnership with private business. It would expand U.S. companies’ role in strategically important assets while reducing the presence of Chinese and Russian operators. The projects include fields operated by China Concord Resources, Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corp, as well as projects linked to affiliates of Alex Saab and a nephew of Cilia Flores, the wife of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Separately, talks involving Venezuela’s interim authorities and representatives of the 2015 National Assembly seek to address legal issues in the country’s transition. The Trump administration regards that assembly as the last Venezuelan legislative body elected and operating under the constitution, and an agreement could provide a constitutional and legal basis for broader economic decisions, including reviving the oil industry.