Venezuela's heavy crude could be swapped for American oil to fill emergency reserve, Wright says
"We'll swap you a barrel of heavy crude for a barrel of light or medium United States crude," Wright said during an interview on CNBC, calling oil markets fluid.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright suggested on Wednesday that Venezuela's heavy crude oil could be exchanged for American light or medium crude oil to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, as reported by CNBC. Wright explained that Venezuela's crude oil has a high sulfur content and dense nature, making it unsuitable for the US emergency stash.
The US recently released millions of barrels from the reserve to help calm markets during the Iran conflict, causing concerns about reservoir damage and response capabilities. While swapping Venezuela's dense and high-sulfur crude for US light or medium crude could help fill the reserves, the quality differences between the two types of crude make it unlikely.
Instead, the US government may use a swap to circumvent quality challenges and replenish the reserve.
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