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President Donald Trump on March 14 called on other countries to send warships to keep the strait open, saying he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. would take part.

The two-day visit comes as the administration seeks to defend against China’s hold on critical minerals, some of which are abundant in Venezuela.

A decision to tap the Energy Department’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve could help stanch price spikes, at least temporarily. The reserve currently holds about 415 million barrels.

The U.S. government on Feb. 11 further asserted its self-appointed role in turning around Venezuela’s oil industry with the arrival of Energy Secretary Chris Wright for a firsthand assessment.

Oil executives and industry leaders have stressed companies need political and legal reforms, contract certainty and security guarantees before investing in Venezuela.

Oil companies are wary of spending tens of billions of dollars into the country over the next decade and are looking for guarantees of physical and financial security amid stability concerns.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright will attend the Goldman Sachs Energy, Clean Tech & Utilities Conference in Miami that executives from Chevron, ConocoPhillips and other companies are set to attend.

The Energy Department is seeking oil for delivery in December and January, using a portion of the $171 million from President Trump’s tax and spending law that provided for crude purchases.

The Department of Energy terminated $7.5 billion in grants for 223 projects approved by the Biden administration including Paccar Inc.’s SuperTruck 3 program and two hydrogen hubs.

Fusion energy, which powers the sun and stars, has the potential to produce abundant carbon-free electricity, but efforts to harness it have proved elusive.