US nears deal to secure long-term access to Venezuela's oil reserves, sources say

HOUSTON/WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 (Reuters) - Trump administration officials are working on a deal to secure the United States, which is overseeing Venezuela's oil exports, long-term access to a portion of the South American country's crude reserves, sources with knowledge of the negotiations said on Thursday.

The agreement, which could be signed and made public soon, is expected to operate in a way that would let the U.S. government lock in a group of Venezuelan oilfields to be developed by American companies, the sources said, adding that the resulting supply would be guaranteed for the U.S.

"This is real and being discussed at the highest levels of the U.S. and Venezuelan governments," one of the sources said.

A separate source said a "lease" was in consideration as the legal model to make the deal work, with a further auction or tender to allocate each one of the fields among U.S. producers.

The White House referred questions to the U.S. Department of Energy. Venezuela's oil ministry, state oil company PDVSA and the Energy Department did not immediately reply to requests for comment. Venezuelan oil minister Paula Henao could not be reached for comment.