Trump Pledges to Refill U.S. Strategic Oil Reserve Using Venezuelan Crude

U.S. President Trump stated that crude oil from a new U.S.-Venezuela deal will be directed to replenish the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The announcement was made in a post on the Truth Social platform on Sunday.

Refilling the Reserve

In his post, President Trump committed to using the Venezuelan oil to address the reserve's diminished levels. "One of the things I am going to do with the Venezuelan Oil is fill up the Strategic National Reserves which, because of Sleepy Joe Biden, has been virtually emptied," he said.

Trump added that the replenishment process would begin "very shortly" and described the arrangement as a "Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States."

The U.S.-Venezuela Agreement

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The plan follows a deal announced Friday between the U.S. and private businesses in Venezuela. According to the report, the agreement gives the U.S. majority control over 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan crude oil.

The deal is set to establish the world's second-largest private oil company by reserves and is positioned to secure U.S. oil supplies for decades to come.

State of the SPR

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve currently holds 289.7 million barrels of oil, which is approximately 40% of its total capacity. The reserve's levels have been reduced following drawdowns under both the current and previous administrations to manage domestic fuel prices and supply disruptions.