Wright explains how Venezuelan crude will ‘fill’ the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has proposed refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by having U.S. companies swap heavy crude newly sourced from Venezuela for U.S.-produced light or medium crude that is better suited for the reserve.

During a flight from Caracas, Venezuela, to Washington, D.C., Wright told the Washington Examiner that the emergency oil reserve currently does not store heavy crude, like what is produced in Venezuela, and so the government likely won’t be physically replenishing the falling inventories with the South American country’s oil. Instead, it will facilitate an exchange to obtain the proper oil.