President Donald Trump said the U.S. will use Venezuelan oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, calling it a “Gift” to Americans while blaming former President Joe Biden for depleting the stockpile.
Trump Plans To Refill Strategic Petroleum Reserve
On Sunday, Trump said in a Truth Social post, “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 added, “The ‘topping out’ process will begin very shortly, and is a Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States.”
Trump Touts Venezuela Oil Deal
On Friday, Trump said the U.S. had reached an agreement with Venezuela for majority control of more than 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.
He called it “THE BIGGEST OIL DEAL IN WORLD HISTORY” and said it would cost American taxpayers nothing.
Trump said the deal could strengthen U.S.-Venezuela relations, boost energy security and help lower gasoline prices as average U.S. gas prices reached about $4.09 per gallon.
He also said it would more than double U.S. oil reserves, though those foreign-controlled reserves were separate from oil held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
US-Venezuela Oil Ties
Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez said a 25-year energy agreement with the U.S. aimed to raise crude production to 1.5 million barrels per day while preserving national ownership of its resources.
The deal covered 17 oilfields and eight new blocks and was projected to generate about $209 billion in revenue for Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Venezuela was reportedly considering leaving the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as energy ties with Washington deepened.
The Trump administration was also negotiating a U.S. stake in about a dozen Venezuelan oil fields containing nearly 90 million barrels of proven reserves, with private and U.S. oil companies expected to help develop them.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Image via Shutterstock/ Joey Sussman
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