The Trump White House said that the administration is gradually refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after it was partially drained under the Biden administration. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The U.S. became the world’s largest natural gas producer in 2011, surpassing Russia, and then the top crude oil producer in 2018, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia — a surge driven largely by the shale revolution, which took off in the mid-to-late 2000s with the widespread use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created in the aftermath of the 1970s oil crisis to protect the United States from foreign supply shocks, at a time when the country relied heavily on imported oil. That dynamic has shifted dramatically as domestic production surged, turning the U.S. into the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas.
Furchtgott-Roth said the U.S.' shift to become an energy producer, combined with Trump's policies have opened the floodgates of producing U.S. oil, which lessens the need for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
"We have the potential to produce a lot more, and we have a government that's supportive of that," Furchtgott-Roth said of the oil in the U.S. "It's now possible to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but I just want to say the biggest strategic petroleum reserves we have is right under our feet in places like Texas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Ohio. We have so much oil and natural gas in this country."
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Since returning to office, Trump has used executive authority to fast-track domestic energy production, including signing an order titled "Unleashing American Energy" aimed at rolling back regulatory barriers and accelerating permitting for oil and gas projects. The administration also moved to restart and speed reviews of liquefied natural gas export approvals, reversing the Biden-era "pause" approach and positioning U.S. natural gas exports as a centerpiece of its energy strategy.
Then-President Joe Biden announces the release of 50 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of a coordinated effort with other major economies to help ease rising gas prices as he delivers remarks on the economy and "lowering prices," during a speech in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Nov. 23, 2021. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters )
Meanwhile, the U.S. military successfully captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January, with Trump shortly after announcing the U.S. would "run" the South American, oil-rich nation.
He announced on social media in January that Venezuelan oil would immediately be turned over to the U.S., including "between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America."
"This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States! I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately. It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States," Trump wrote.
An administration official told Fox Digital that refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with Venezuelan oil is not currently under consideration.
Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox Business that the "we're going to bring more crude onto the marketplace" with Venezuelan oil.
"We're going bring crude that's particularly well-suited for American refineries," he explaimed Friday. "It helps us build asphalt as well. All of those things, as you drive market prices down, and you drive supply up, that's helpful for giving us multiple ways to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve."
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President Donald Trump is set to meet with a group of oil executives to discuss investment in Venezuela following the capture of Nicolás Maduro. (Gabby Oraa/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
Furchtgott-Roth said Venezuela’s power shift sent a powerful signal to U.S. adversaries, weakening Cuba’s economy, cutting into Russia’s oil revenues, limiting China’s leverage in Latin America, and emboldening opposition movements in Iran by demonstrating Washington’s willingness to confront authoritarian regimes.
She added that Venezuela’s oil comeback would take time because production collapsed after the regime expropriated U.S. infrastructure and couldn’t operate it, driving output from roughly 3.5 million barrels a day pre-Hugo Chávez to under 1 million today.
A Trump official explained to Fox Digital in December 2025 that the administration is working to "gradually" refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with oil, while citing significant "damage" left to the reserve following the Biden administration releasing millions of barrels of oil in 2021 and 2022.
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"Joe Biden’s disastrous green energy policies sent gas prices soaring across the country, making the past four years painfully unaffordable for Americans filling their gas tanks to commute to work, take their children to school, and travel during the summer and holiday seasons," White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital.
Congress must appropriate funding to fully replenish the reserve. The Department of Energy currently has refill authority and funding under the so-called "big, beautiful bill," which set aside $218 million for maintenance and repairs and another $171 million to begin refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-energy-dominance-rewrites-strategic-petroleum-reserve-after-biden-drawdowns