Republican lawmakers are asking if barrels of Venezuelan crude could help refill the United States’ strategic oil stockpile, though analysts say it may be logistically impossible.
President Donald Trump said Venezuela will send 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the U.S. after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro this month, leading to questions about what’s possible.
House Republicans this week called for spending $1.1 billion to refill the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve “in whole or in part” with discounted Venezuelan oil as part of a proposed party-line budget bill. But stockpiling more oil by pumping Venezuelan crude into the reserve may be infeasible.
“We do think that there is some possibility on the SPR, but the grade of Venezuelan crude does have a higher sulfur content than the current SPR can take,” said Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute during a media call this week. “There are some logistical issues about the SPR that make it difficult for it to take in Venezuelan crude.”
