The Daily Journal. — U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that his administration will soon use Venezuelan crude to replenish the country’s strategic energy reserves following the recent bilateral agreement that gives U.S. companies operational control over one-fifth of the South American country’s proven reserves.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump lashed out at his predecessor’s management and identified the primary destination for the oil supply agreed upon with Caracas: “One of the things I will do with the Venezuelan oil is fill up the National Strategic Reserves, which, because of incompetent Joe Biden, are practically empty.”
The Republican president added that “the process of filling them will begin very soon, and it is a gift from Venezuela to the people of the United States.”
The U.S. government decided as the country faces a sharp decline in its hydrocarbon reserves following the military conflict that Washington launched against Iran last February.
U.S. strategic inventories currently stand at around 290,000 barrels, down about 225,000 barrels from last spring, bringing them to their lowest levels since 1983, when the country’s reserves still felt the effects of the second global oil crisis.
Operational terms and a new bilateral landscape
Trump’s remarks add to the official announcement of the framework agreement under which Washington and private companies will manage slightly more than 20% of Venezuela’s crude oil reserves.
Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said the agreement aims to reach production of 1.5 million barrels per day, will remain in effect for 25 years and includes the development of 17 fields with “proven potential of 65 billion barrels of oil.”
The agreement further deepens the diplomatic and commercial alignment between Washington and the Rodríguez administration following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January, marking a structural shift in bilateral relations after more than two decades of political confrontation.
