President Trump said Sunday he plans to use some of the oil he secured from Venezuela to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has been depleted to near-record lows.
The president posted his intentions on Truth Social, two days after announcing an agreement with the South American nation to take control of 65 billion barrels of the country’s oil reserves.
“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,” Mr. Trump posted. “The ‘topping out’ process will begin very shortly, and is a Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States. Thank you! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
The reserve holds the nation’s emergency stockpile of oil. Its levels are currently at a 40-year low. The Department of Energy announced in August that its levels fell by 6.1 million barrels, to 298.7 million barrels.
Mr. Trump ordered in March the release of 172 million barrels from the reserve to combat skyrocketing energy prices in the wake of the U.S. war with Iran, which effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a major chokepoint for oil tankers.
President Joseph R. Biden also drained the reserve to ease high energy prices. He ordered several releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve that led to a 42% drop during his administration.
The national average price for gasoline was $4.08 this week, up from about $3.21 a year ago, according to the auto owners club AAA.
Mr. Trump posted Friday about the deal with Venezuela, which came nine months after the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and removed him from power. Mr. Maduro is facing narcoterrorism charges in the United States.
Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez said Saturday the deal with the United States would remain active for 25 years with a “production target” of more than 1.5 million barrels per day.
Mr. Trump, posting on Truth Social, described the arrangement in all-capital letters as “The biggest oil deal in world history!”
Venezuela is considered to have the largest oil reserves in the world, with an estimated 303 billion barrels of heavy crude.
