The US is turning to an unlikely supplier to restock its depleted emergency oil stash. President Donald Trump announced on August 30, 2026, that Venezuelan crude will be used to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, calling the oil a “Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States.”
The SPR currently holds roughly 290 million barrels, about 44% of its total capacity. That is near a 44-year low.
The deal behind the barrels
Two days before Trump’s social media announcement, the administration revealed that US interests had secured 55% control over more than 65 billion barrels of proven Venezuelan reserves. That figure represents approximately one-fifth of Venezuela’s total proven reserves.
The arrangement was structured as a private-sector partnership, which the administration says involved no direct costs to US taxpayers.
