Trump Says U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Will Be Refilled with Venezuelan Oil, Process to Begin Soon

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on the 30th local time that he will refill the depleted U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) using oil from Venezuela.

President Trump posted on social media Truth Social that day, saying, "One of the things I will do with Venezuelan oil is to fill up our National Strategic Reserve." He added, "The process to fill it up to the top will begin very soon, and this is a gift from Venezuela to the American people."

This is seen as an intention to replenish the U.S. strategic petroleum reserves.

President Trump also claimed that the strategic petroleum reserves had been practically emptied during the former administration of Joe Biden.

As of August 21, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve stood at approximately 290 million barrels, marking the lowest level since the end of 1982.

With a storage capacity of 714 million barrels, the current holdings are less than half.

Refilling the strategic petroleum reserve with Venezuelan oil could take a considerable amount of time.

Developing Venezuelan crude oil requires massive investment and infrastructure.

Reuters pointed out, "It remains unclear how quickly the agreement with Venezuela will allow the reserves to be refilled, and what short-term benefits U.S. consumers can secure."

Two days prior, President Trump announced that he had reached a major oil trade agreement with Venezuela, stating that the U.S. has secured control over more than half of Venezuela's crude oil reserves.

The U.S. strategic petroleum reserves gradually decreased amid the war in Ukraine and the conflict with Iran.

With the operational lower limit of the strategic petroleum reserve estimated at 180 to 200 million barrels, concerns have been raised that reserves are dwindling to precarious levels.

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.