View of the Peace Monument outside the headquarters of Venezuelan state-owned oil company PDVSA in Caracas. AFP
Oil giant Chevron will at the same time announce plans to expand its operations in Venezuela, whose leader Nicolas Maduro was toppled by US forces in January, the official told reporters.
Trump is meeting oil executives at the White House on Tuesday as he tries to tame gas prices that are spiraling because of the Iran war, with his administration hoping the Venezuela deal could help.
The trip by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright is meant to advance the oil deal with Venezuela.
"First and foremost, it furthers the national interest of the United States," the US official told reporters on condition of anonymity, adding that "to buy oil at cost reliably for our country is critically important."
But the official insisted that the oil deal also "sets up Venezuela for long-term success" and would help stabilize the country for a democratic transition from its interim government.
The shape of the agreement is beginning to emerge, after Trump on Friday announced the "biggest oil deal in world history" giving the US control over a huge chunk of Venezuelan oil, but gave few details.
Under the deal, the US will take a 35 percent stake in North American Blue Energy Partners, the second largest Venezuelan private oil company, which is owned by businessman Alejandro Betancourt, the White House said in a fact-sheet.
The firm will grant Washington the right to buy 20 percent of the oil pumped by the firm at production cost, "ensuring a stable supply of low-cost oil" that will flow to US refineries, it said.
The deal will also see the takeover of oil fields previously owned by Russian and Chinese companies, the official said.
"It was... a geopolitical opportunity to secure fields that primarily had largely been under the influence of Chinese and Russian companies, and allow them to instead be aligned with the United States."
Under Maduro, who is now in detention in the United States, Venezuela was giving much of its oil away to its ally Cuba for free, while profits from the industry were being squandered by corruption, the official said.
Cheaper oil is a priority for the Trump administration ahead of crucial US midterm elections in November, in which his Republican Party could lose control of Congress.
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