US to add another 2.4 million bbls of crude to SPR
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Petroleum Reserves announced a new solicitation to buy up to 2.4 million bbls of crude oil to replenish its Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs).
PHOTO: An oil refinery installation in Southern California, adorned with a US flag. Getty Images
The crude oil will be delivered at the SPR’s Bryan Mound site from 1 April 2025 through 31 May 2025. In October, the US energy department purchased up to 3 million bbls of crude oil for deliveries in April-May 2025.
The DoE will purchase the 2.4 million bbls of crude oil totalling $178.6 million from two US-based energy companies, it said. Macquarie Commodities Trading will deliver 1.8 million bbls and Energy Transfer Crude Marketing will deliver 600,000 bbls of crude oil, the DoE added.
The energy department intends to buy about 3 million bbls of crude oil at an average price of $79/bbl or below, it said.
The US energy department has so far directly purchased more than 59 million bbls of crude oil for the SPR at an average price of about $76/bbl. The crude oil stocks are stored in underground salt caverns at four sites in Texas and Louisiana.
The US SPR is one of the world’s largest emergency crude oil reserves. When the US purchases crude oil to fill its SPR, significant amounts of oil are removed from the market, which could potentially tighten supply and support oil prices.
The SPR stood at around 387 million bbls as of 1 November, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.
By Aparupa Mazumder
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