Trump Says Venezuela Oil Will Refill U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve

[Financial News] President Donald Trump, who took control of Venezuelan oil after the attack on Venezuela in January, said he plans to refill the United States' strategic petroleum reserve with Venezuelan crude.
Trump wrote on Truth Social on the 30th, local time, that "one of the things I will do with Venezuela oil is refill our national Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which was essentially depleted because of sleepy Joe Biden." He added, "The refilling process will begin very soon, and this is a gift from Venezuela to the American people."
As of the 21st, the United States' strategic petroleum reserve stood at about 290 million barrels, the lowest level since late 1982. Current holdings are less than half of total storage capacity, which is 714 million barrels.
Earlier, the Biden administration released strategic reserves at a rate of 1 million barrels per day for six months in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, to stabilize global oil prices. It was the largest release on record, and about 45% of the reserve had been sold by the end of 2023.
The Trump administration, which attacked Iran earlier this year, also announced in March that it would sell 172 million barrels from the strategic petroleum reserve to help stabilize oil prices.
The U.S. Department of Energy has not yet released detailed guidelines on the transfer and storage of Venezuelan oil. After attacking Venezuela in January and detaining President Nicolás Maduro Moros, the Trump administration has been cooperating with Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, in the oil sector. On the 28th, the Trump administration reached a 25-year agreement with Rodríguez's government and secured majority control over 6.5 billion barrels of crude reserves in Venezuela. Foreign media outlets said the development would require massive investment and a long time to produce oil, adding that it remains unclear what benefits Americans will gain from the deal.


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