President Trump announced on Sunday that the United States will use oil from a recent agreement with Venezuela to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), a move he framed as a benefit to American taxpayers.
"One of the things I am going to do with the Venezuelan Oil is fill up the Strategic National Reserves," Trump wrote on Truth Social, asserting that the reserve was "virtually emptied" under former President Biden. He added that the "topping out" process would begin shortly and called it "a Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States."
The announcement comes after the administration reached a deal with Venezuela's government on Friday, granting U.S. control over more than 65 billion barrels of oil—roughly 21 percent of Venezuela's proven reserves, which stood at about 303 billion barrels in 2023.
According to a U.S. official, the agreement involves a private company—a joint venture between the U.S. government and an unnamed private operator—receiving 100-year concessions for oil fields holding 63 billion barrels of proven reserves. The U.S. government will hold more than half of the venture's value and receive 55 percent of its output.
The deal has drawn sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who argue it hands lucrative oil revenues to private interests. Critics have also questioned the transparency of the arrangement, given the lack of details about the private partner.
Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez, who succeeded Nicolás Maduro after his capture by U.S. forces in January, defended the pact, saying it would develop 17 strategic fields and generate over $209 billion in tax revenue for her government. "These investments will contribute not only to the recovery and modernization of our industry, but also to our country's economic growth, the energy security of our hemisphere, and greater balance in international markets," she said in a statement.
The SPR currently holds about 289.7 million barrels as of the week ending Aug. 21, down nearly 30 percent since the start of the year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Under Biden, the reserve fell from over 638 million barrels in January 2021 to under 395 million by January 2025. The authorized storage capacity is 714 million barrels.
Trump's plan to refill the reserve using Venezuelan oil is likely to face legal and political hurdles, as some lawmakers have called for congressional oversight. The move also intersects with broader debates over energy policy and foreign relations, including ongoing scrutiny of the deal. Meanwhile, the administration's approach to Venezuela has become a flashpoint in the lead-up to the midterms, with Democrats framing it as a giveaway to corporate allies.
