US President Donald Trump has stated that Washington intends to use Venezuelan oil to replenish the country’s strategic national reserves.
“One of the things I intend to do with Venezuelan oil is to replenish the strategic national reserves, which were virtually depleted because of Biden,” he wrote in a post on the social media platform Truth Social.
According to Trump, this process will begin shortly. He described it as “a gift from Venezuela to the people of the United States”.
The day before, Trump announced the conclusion of the largest oil agreement in world history between the US and Venezuela. It is claimed to provide for the US side to acquire a controlling stake in proven oil reserves totalling more than 65 billion barrels.
The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that, when US energy companies refused to invest at the required pace and on the required scale, the Trump administration devised an emergency solution — to make the US government itself the investor. According to the publication, the deal, announced on 28 August, gives Washington a stake in a private company that will receive 100-year rights to develop 17 oil fields with reserves of 65 billion barrels, accounting for one-fifth of the country’s proven reserves.