Caracas, Venezuela - US energy firms on Wednesday signed a raft of multibillion-dollar deals with Venezuela, days after the South American country agreed to grant the US control of a huge chunk of its vast oil reserves.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to Caracas to oversee the signing of deals worth "tens of billions of dollars of investment," seen as a quid pro quo for Washington winning majority control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves.

Wright said the deals signed by Venezuela with US oil major Chevron, GE Vernova, a General Electric offshoot, and Italy's ENI were "critical in starting this ball rolling of peace, opportunity, and prosperity" in Venezuela.

Speaking alongside interim President Delcy Rodriguez, he argued that ramping up energy production was "the catalyst for transforming Venezuela" and for "improving the life conditions of Americans, the hemisphere and everyone in the world."

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His visit had been expected to focus on finalizing the deal on oil reserves, which President Donald Trump last week billed as the "biggest oil deal in world history."

But Rodriguez said the deal had already been concluded.

The agreements signed Wednesday will see US company Chevron and Italy's ENI ramp up their operations in Venezuela.

Chevron, the top private oil producer in Venezuela, had earlier valued its deal to develop two additional oil fields in the Orinoco Belt at $7 billion and said it expected to more than double output in five years.

ENI said it had gained exclusive rights to explore the giant Junin 5 oil field.

US energy company GE Vernova, an offshoot of General Electric, meanwhile, will help revitalize Venezuela's battered electricity sector.

The agreement comes as US Republicans brace for possible losses in November midterm elections due to spiraling fuel costs brought on by Trump's war against Iran.

Trump's landmark oil agreement has raised major questions about Venezuela's sovereignty.

Critics in both the US and Venezuela accuse Trump of holding the country to ransom after ousting former president Nicolas Maduro in a January bombing raid and warning that Rodriguez too could face a similar fate if she did not toe his line.

On Wednesday, Rodriguez denied she was surrendering Venezuela's riches, saying that cutting the US in on the country's oil wealth was necessary to secure investment in the oil sector.

More oil, she went on, "translates into more jobs, higher wages, better public services, hospitals, schools, and food."

She has estimated that Venezuela will make $209 billion in profit from the deal over 25 years.