U.S. President Donald Trump said the country will begin filling its Strategic Petroleum Reserve with oil from Venezuela, whose crude production and exports have become a central part of the recent energy agreement between Washington and Caracas.
“We have a great relationship with Venezuela. We’re making a lot of money, and they are too. We’re going to start filling our national reserves with Venezuelan oil to make money,” Trump told reporters.
Trump announced the agreement with Venezuela in late August, describing it as the largest oil deal in the world. Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez later said the agreement would remain in effect for 25 years and emphasized that Caracas would retain ownership and sovereignty over its natural resources.
The agreement includes plans to develop Venezuelan oil fields and increase production, with U.S. companies and other international firms expected to participate. The full terms of the agreement have not been publicly disclosed.
The announcement comes as the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve remains at its lowest level in decades. The reserve currently holds fewer than 284 million barrels, according to recent government figures, following major releases in response to global energy disruptions
