Billionaire oil baron Harold Hamm signed a tentative agreement Wednesday to venture into Venezuela to explore one of the Latin American country's undeveloped oil fields.

Hamm's Oklahoma-based Continental Resources is the latest to answer President Trump's call for U.S. companies to help revive the Latin American country's dilapidated oil sector. Hamm is one of Trump's closest allies in the oil patch; he high-fived the president as votes rolled in on election night in 2024.

Hamm and Continental CEO Doug Lawler, who had traveled to Venezuela earlier this year, signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's state-run Petróleos de Venezuela at the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial in Houston. Continental, which is the largest oil producer in North Dakota's Bakken shale, said it hopes to sign a production-sharing agreement in coming weeks.

"We talk about the [U.S. shale] energy renaissance," Hamm said. "I think this can also be the energy renaissance that's necessary in Venezuela."

Hamm said he believes the influx of U.S. companies directed by Trump's administration into Venezuela could push that country's oil production beyond its previous peak of more than 3 million barrels a day from decades ago.

Lawler said Continental's deal would put it in one of Venezuela's greenfield oil patches requiring "a significant amount" of seismic and exploration work. Such fields in Venezuela typically require billions of dollars and years to develop. Lawler didn't say how much Continental planned to spend in Venezuela but noted the company prioritizes capital efficiency.

The deal potentially marks another win for Trump. His lieutenants are trying to shore up oil supply lines in the Western Hemisphere as fallout from the Iran war and subsequent conflicts in the Middle East have closed off some of the global oil market's most vital arteries.

Venezuela says it has the world's largest oil reserves, and it produces the type of oil that U.S. Gulf Coast refineries prefer using to make gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.

"It's a milestone deal in making the Western Hemisphere the center of the global energy system," Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Trump's strategy shifts the geopolitical center of energy away from the Middle East, the geographic chokepoints that have waylaid oil tankers and "50 years of oil-funded terrorism, 24 terror groups being funded by the country of Iran."

Continental's potential entry into Venezuela would mark the first big U.S. oil deal there since Chevron said earlier this month that it would invest $7 billion through its joint ventures over the next five years. The U.S. oil giant plans to double its output to 600,000 barrels a day and has scooped up two new oil fields. Italian oil company ENI and smaller players Primavera and Aspect Holdings also signed deals in Caracas.

Continental was one of several U.S. oil companies that had hesitated for months to commit large amounts of capital to Venezuela. Many have held back over legal and financial concerns in the country, which nationalized the assets of ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips in 2007.

At a televised White House meeting in January, Hamm had expressed enthusiasm about the prospect of exploring in Venezuela, but noted the country had challenges and didn't commit at the time to investing there.

Continental said the field it plans to explore sits north of Venezuela's Orinoco River in the state of Anzoátegui, encompassing 126,000 acres with an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil resources buried underground. The company cited Venezuela's overhaul of its hydrocarbon legal framework as clearing the way for it to pursue the investment.

Continental, which calls itself the world's largest privately held oil-and-gas producer, pumps about 500,000 barrels of oil and gas a day, Wright said.