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

Hamm's Oklahoma-based Continental Resources is the latest to answer President Trump's call for U.S. companies to help revive Venezuela'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 said he had traveled to Venezuela twice this year, signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding with Venezuela's state-run Petróleos de Venezuela at the G-20 Energy Abundance Ministerial in Houston.

Continental, which is the largest oil producer in North Dakota's Bakken Shale, said it hoped 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 thinks the influx of U.S. companies directed by Trump's administration into Venezuela could push the country's oil production beyond 3 million barrels a day, its previous peak from decades ago.

Lawler said Continental's deal would put it in one of Venezuela's greenfield heavy-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 said it was unclear how much Continental would ultimately invest in Venezuela, but noted the company would have to deploy "a significant amount of capital" into new wells and infrastructure such as pipelines after decades of inactivity in the region.

The deal potentially marks another win for Trump. His administration is 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 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.

The deal would mark Continental's first foray into developing heavy oil. The type of oil that emerges from the Bakken is a far lighter grade. Pumping Venezuela's heavy oil is known globally as a challenging prospect attempted by few outside the U.S. major oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron.

Lawler said his company would evaluate potential partners to help develop the field, but is also prepared to tackle the challenge on its own. He said the company hoped to achieve first oil in roughly 18 months, though he acknowledged it is difficult to predict given how early it is in the exploration process.

He said the company has a team mobilized in Venezuela and that it will need to drill exploration wells to appraise the region's production potential.

"What you have in Venezuela is a very receptive environment to American investment," he said, noting he had first traveled to Venezuela in April and again more recently. "I was very encouraged by the welcoming, the excitement in the country."

Many oil companies have worried they could face legal uncertainty if a new, democratically elected government comes into power, or a future U.S. administration allows Venezuela's current government more leeway. Hamm told reporters he was confident Venezuela would uphold its legal and contractual obligations even under a new government.

"You know, this means a great deal to them," Hamm said. "This is a new day, new era."