Donald Trump said the process of refilling the reserve would begin shortly
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve held about 290 million barrels of oil as of August 21, near a 44-year low, according to Reuters.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the process of refilling the reserve would begin shortly, describing the Venezuelan oil as a “Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States. US President Donald Trump on Sunday said oil secured under a recently announced deal with Venezuela would be used to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which has been drawn down sharply in recent years amid global supply disruptions and high fuel prices. Trump announced the agreement with Venezuela on Friday as part of efforts to revive the South American country’s battered oil industry.
The US government and an unnamed private operator in Venezuela have formed a new company that has been granted rights to untapped oil fields for 100 years. A statement from Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the agreement involves the development of 17 fields with a proven potential of 65 billion barrels. She said the deal could attract $100 billion in investment into Venezuela’s oil industry and generate more than $209 billion in taxes for Caracas.