Trump Announces New Venezuelan Oil Deal to Replenish Depleted US Strategic Petroleum Reserve

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that petroleum secured through a newly established agreement with Venezuela will be utilized to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has experienced significant depletion in recent years due to high fuel prices and global supply disruptions.

"One of the things I am going to do with the Venezuelan oil is fill up the Strategic National Reserves which, because of sleepy [former president] Joe Biden, has been virtually emptied," Mr Trump stated in a social media message, noting that the replenishment process will commence very soon. He characterized the Venezuelan crude as a "gift from Venezuela to the people of the United States."

Data from the Energy Department indicates that crude oil inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve dropped by approximately 5.3 million barrels during August, reaching 293.4 million barrels—the lowest mark recorded since 1982. The reserve was originally created in 1975 to mitigate future supply crises following the 1973 oil embargo.

The newly forged arrangement grants a US-backed venture control over 65 billion barrels, although significant infrastructure investment, transport logistics, and production efforts must precede actual extraction. Furthermore, a substantial portion of Venezuela's crude consists of extra-heavy oil that currently fails the reserve's baseline specifications.

The United States has increasingly relied on its emergency stockpile as ongoing conflict in Iran interrupts Arabian Gulf oil transit through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that typically handles roughly one-fifth of global petroleum supplies.

The pact, made public on Friday, provides the US with a stake in Venezuela's vast oil reserves arriving nine months after the US military captured former president Nicolas Maduro, who currently faces narco-terrorism charges in New York.

During a televised address on Saturday, Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez hailed the agreement as a "historic" milestone set to endure for 25 years. She noted that the accord enables Venezuela to advance its petroleum sector while maintaining "ownership of and sovereignty" over its natural resources, adding that the reserves would "cease to be an inert, cold statistic and will instead become concrete solutions."

The joint project outlines the development of 17 strategic oilfields, targeting an initial production rate of 1.5 million barrels per day.