Venezuela’s heavy crude isn’t a great fit for the US emergency reserve. It could still help refill it.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright oversaw the signing of a series of energy deals during his visit to Caracas, where he met interim President Delcy Rodríguez.

Juan Barreto/AFP/Getty Images The US could swap Venezuela's heavy crude for lighter American oil to help refill the SPR.

The Venezuelan barrels don't have to enter the reserve themselves, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

More Venezuelan heavy crude could also mean more competition for Canadian oil.

The US could swap heavy Venezuelan crude for American oil to help refill the US emergency reserve, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday.

"We'll swap you a barrel of heavy crude for a barrel of light or medium United States crude," Wright told CNBC in Caracas.

The swap could get around a mismatch, as some of Venezuela's key heavy crude grades aren't suitable for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

Wright's comments came after President Donald Trump said Sunday that he planned to "fill up" the US strategic reserves with Venezuelan oil.

The White House has also said oil secured through a sweeping new US-Venezuela agreement could help replenish the SPR.

"It doesn't mean that exactly these barrels go in there," Wright said.

Venezuela's heavy crude could instead go to US refiners, while lighter American barrels obtained through a swap could enter the reserve.

Wright said US refineries built in the 1960s and 1970s were designed around Venezuelan crude.

Under the new agreement, North American Blue Energy Partners received 100-year concessions covering 17 Venezuelan oil fields.

The US government received a 35% equity stake in the company's corporate parent.