The president Donald Trump announced this Sunday that part of the Venezuelan oil that the United States will have access to following the new agreement with Caracas will be used to refill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is currently at its lowest level in over four decades.
Trump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social, where he stated that the process to complete the reservations will begin "very soon" and presented Venezuelan oil as a direct benefit for Americans.
"One of the things I will do with Venezuelan oil is fill the National Strategic Reserves, which, due to Sleepy (sleepy) Joe Biden, have been left practically empty," Trump wrote.
"The process to fill them will begin very soon and it is a gift from Venezuela to the people of the United States. Thank you!" added the leader.
Although Trump used the term "National Strategic Reserves," the official name for the federal emergency oil stockpile is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
It is composed of large underground salt caverns located in Texas and Louisiana and has an authorized capacity of 714 million barrels.
Trump's statement comes after Reuters reported that crude oil stocks in the reserve fell by 3.7 million barrels during the week ending August 21, bringing the total down to 289.7 million barrels, the lowest level since November 1982.
That amount corresponds to just over 40% of the authorized capacity of the reserve, so Trump's claim that Biden left it "practically empty" does not accurately describe its current level.
In 2026, the Trump administration itself initiated a release of up to 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a coordinated action of 400 million barrels among member countries of the International Energy Agency to respond to disruptions in global supply.
The announcement this Sunday clarifies one of the potential destinations for the crude oil involved in the oil agreement that Trump presented on Friday as "the largest in world history".
According to announcements from Washington, the United States has gained majority control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan reserves through a plan that involves the development of 17 strategic fields. Trump stated that the operation will not cost the American taxpayer.
The details disclosed so far indicate that the United States would have access to 55% of the effective production through a combination of participation and purchasing rights, and that some of that oil could be specifically allocated to the strategic reserves and the U.S. Armed Forces.
The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, publicly defended the agreement this weekend and stated that Venezuela maintains "ownership and sovereignty over its resources."
Rodríguez stated that the project will have a duration of 25 years, will cover 17 oil fields, and aims to achieve a production of over 1.5 million barrels per day.
That version differs from information coming from American sources that have mentioned rights to the fields for a period of up to 100 years.
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