US set to seize tens of millions in Venezuelan oil after tanker interception, White House says

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. plans to take control of the oil currently on a tanker off the coast of Venezuela that was seized by U.S. forces Wednesday. 

Trump "talks a lot about how he thinks the way to bring down prices for everything would be to bring down the cost of energy," Fox News Senior White House Correspondent Peter Doocy said Thursday. "Would he use this seized Venezuelan oil to try to help Americans with affordability here in the United States?"

Leavitt responded, "The vessel will go to a U.S. port, and the United States does intend to seize the oil. However, there is a legal process for the seizure of that oil and that legal process will be followed." 

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that the U.S. had seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, sharply escalating U.S. tensions with the nation. The tanker was seized for allegedly being used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi. 

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"The vessel is currently undergoing a forfeiture process. Right now, the United States currently has a full investigative team on the ground, on the vessel, and individuals on board the vessel are being interviewed, and any relevant evidence is being seized," Leavitt continued, adding that the oil on the tanker will go through a legal process before the U.S. claims the energy source. 

The tanker, called the Skipper, loaded an estimated 1.8 million barrels of oil earlier in December, before transferring an estimated 200,000 barrels just before its seizure, Reuters reported.

The oil on the tanker is likely worth $60 million to more than $100 million, based on current average oil prices. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for any additional comment on the estimated price tag of the oil but did not immediately receive a reply. 

The U.S. military has carried out strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats near Venezuela since September as part of Trump's mission to end the flow of drugs into the nation. There have been at least 22 strikes on suspected narcotraffickers near Venezuela, killing 87, since September. 

Doocy pressed Leavitt during the press conference on whether the U.S.' strikes and heightened tensions with Venezuela, dubbed Operation Southern Spear, are "about drugs or is it about oil?"

"The Trump administration is focused on doing many things in the Western Hemisphere," Leavitt responded. "The president has taken a new approach that has not been taken by any administration for quite some time to actually focus on what's going on in our own backyard. And there are two things that are very important to this administration."

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The boat strikes are viewed as part of a U.S. pressure campaign on Venezuela likely aimed to not only curb the flow of drugs, but also to oust dictatorial President Nicolás Maduro as leader of the oil-rich nation. 

"Number one, stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the United States of America, which we know has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans," she continued, before adding that Trump is "fully committed to effectuating this administration's sanction policy. And that's what you saw and the world saw take place yesterday."

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"With respect to the oil and what happened yesterday, the Department of Justice requested and was approved for a warrant to seize a vessel because it's a sanctioned shadow vessel known for carrying black market sanctioned oil to the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), which, you know, is a sanctioned entity," she continued. Venezuela is already subject to extensive U.S. sanctions, but was historically a major crude-oil supplier for the U.S.

Leavitt added that the administration will remain committed to the "president's sanction policies and the sanction policies of the United States."

"We're not going to stand by and watch sanctioned vessels sail the seas with black market oil. The proceeds of which will fuel narco-terrorism of rogue and illegitimate regimes around the world," she said. 

Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.