Trump plans to use Venezuela’s huge crude reserves ‘to cut US oil price to $50 a barrel’ | Oil
Donald Trump plans to use Venezuela’s vast crude reserves to gain control of most of the western hemisphere’s oil in a bid to reduce the market price to around $50 (£37) per barrel, according to reports.
The US president has repeatedly raised the possibility of Venezuela producing enough crude oil from its oil fields to reduce the US oil price from $56 per barrel to around $50 to reduce energy costs for consumers, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited senior Trump administration officials.
Global oil markets have recorded serious losses in recent years due to excess supply of crude oil. Prices fall by almost 20% in 2025; This was the biggest annual loss since the Covid-19 outbreak and the first time the oil market has recorded annual losses for three consecutive years.
In addition to driving down market prices, officials reportedly claimed that Trump’s plans to control the world’s largest oil reserves include cutting off Russia and China’s access to the South American country in order to create a bastion for oil production in the western hemisphere.
The White House confirmed on Wednesday that the United States plans to control Venezuela’s oil sales “indefinitely” after laying claim to 50 million barrels of blockaded crude.
The value of oil trapped in tankers and storage facilities could be as high as $3 billion (according to US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the proceeds when sold on the global market will be used “for the benefit of the Venezuelan people”).
On Wednesday, Trump said he would use the profits from any deal Venezuela makes with Washington to sell oil to buy only U.S.-made goods.
“I have just been informed that Venezuela will ONLY purchase American Made Products with the money they will receive from the new Oil Deal,” he said in a post on the Truth Social platform.
The United States this week laid claim to crude oil that fell short of sanctions and also seized a Russian oil tanker bound for Venezuela after a two-week pursuit.
If Trump could increase Venezuelan oil production from less than 1 million barrels per day (1 million barrels per day), or less than 1% of global demand, to its previous high of about 3 million barrels, he would increase U.S. domestic production to about 14 million barrels per day. This represents about a third of the 40 million barrels per day production of countries in the Opec+ alliance.
But there are doubts about whether Trump can reignite Venezuela’s beleaguered oil industry after decades of underinvestment and corruption.
The president has promised that U.S. oil companies will return to the region and spend billions of dollars to improve its infrastructure and increase production. However, companies including Chevron, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips are reportedly cautious.
Trump said this week that if U.S. oil companies invest in Venezuela, they “could be repaid by us or through revenue.” But executives reportedly told the Financial Times they would seek “serious guarantees” from the Trump administration before investing billions of dollars to increase Venezuela’s crude oil production.
“No one wants to get in there when one random tweet could change the country’s entire foreign policy,” a private equity investor specializing in energy told the FT.
Oil bosses met with US officials at an industry conference in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday and will meet Trump at the White House on Friday.
