KEMETIC MINDS — BREAKING NEWS
September 01, 2026
President Trump said Sunday that oil from Venezuela, where the federal government last week announced a deal to take majority control of 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, will be used to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which currently holds just under 290 million barrels (CBS News, 2026).
Key Facts
- The SPR holds just under 290 million barrels, its lowest level since the 1980s, across underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana with room for more than 700 million barrels (CBS News, 2026).
- Last week, Mr. Trump announced the federal government struck a deal with Venezuela to take majority control of 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves (CBS News, 2026).
- The White House said the Pentagon will take a 35% equity stake in North American Blue Energy Partners (CBS News, 2026).
- Energy expert David Goldwyn predicted the U.S. is “at least two years, if not five to seven years at best, away from seeing that production reach the SPR, directly or indirectly” (CBS News, 2026).
- The Department of Energy said in March it was planning to put 200 million barrels of oil back into the reserve within a year (CBS News, 2026).
Trump’s Proposal and Expert Concerns
“One of the things I am going to do with the Venezuelan Oil is fill up the Strategic National Reserves,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media Sunday, saying the “‘topping out’ process will begin very shortly, and is a Gift from Venezuela to the People of the United States” (CBS News, 2026). He has framed last week’s deal as a benefit not just for gas prices but also for the reserve (CBS News, 2026).
Energy experts say the plan faces hurdles. The oil produced in Venezuela is far heavier than most of the crude in U.S. reserves and would need to be converted, and rebuilding Venezuela’s ailing oil industry could take years, requiring producers to invest billions while navigating the country’s still-uncertain political and legal landscape (CBS News, 2026). David Goldwyn, a former federal energy official who serves as president of the consulting firm Goldwyn Global Strategies and chairs the Atlantic Council’s energy advisory group, said, “This project is very unlikely to produce new investment and new production anytime soon” (CBS News, 2026).
Reserve Depletion and Deal Background
Established in the 1970s after an oil embargo by Arab states choked off shipments to the U.S., the SPR has dropped to its lowest level since the 1980s (CBS News, 2026). Mr. Trump has blamed the shortfall on the Biden administration, which released more than 200 million barrels of oil from the reserve in an effort to tamp down energy prices, especially in the early days of the Russia-Ukraine war; the Trump administration has taken similar action to deal with the effects of the Iran war, pumping out over 100 million barrels in recent months (CBS News, 2026).
The Venezuela agreement marks the Trump administration’s most significant step to lure new investment to the Venezuelan oil industry since the U.S. military removed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power in January (CBS News, 2026). The full report is available via CBS News (CBS News, 2026).
What’s Still Unconfirmed
The available source text is truncated mid-detail on the equity arrangement involving North American Blue Energy Partners, so terms beyond the Pentagon’s 35% stake are not yet verified; experts’ estimates that production is two to seven years away are projections, not confirmed timelines (CBS News, 2026).
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References
- CBS News. (2026, September 1). Trump says Venezuelan oil could replenish depleted U.S. stockpiles. Will it?. cbsnews.com
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