Donald Trump admits global oil reserves near exhaustion, contradicting earlier independence claim

At the G7 summit in Évian‑les‑Bains, France on 17 June 2026, President Donald Trump warned that global oil reserves were approaching a catastrophic threshold and that “we would run out of reserves in about four weeks”. The remark starkly contradicted his earlier statements, such as his 1 April 2026 televised claim that the United States was “totally independent of the Middle East” and did not need Middle Eastern oil.

Trump's warning came as U.S. commercial oil inventories fell sharply, with Cushing, Oklahoma stockpiles dropping from roughly 33 million barrels to about 24.5 million barrels, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve holding only 365.1 million barrels—about half its capacity. Energy‑sector CEOs, including those of Exxon, Chevron and ConocoPhillips, had previously warned the administration about the volatility caused by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz. In June, American Petroleum Institute chief Mike Sommers publicly sounded the alarm on the record‑low inventories.

Analysts note that while Trump did not specify whether his comment referred to U.S. or global reserves, the admission has heightened market anxiety about oil availability and pricing.