On Monday, the Department of Energy said that the US bought 6 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The oil will be delivered until May 2025.
The purchases are part of an effort to rebuild stockpiles after President Joe Biden ordered the biggest sale of 180 million barrels from the reserve in 2022. This was done to keep fuel prices low after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The Department of Energy said the US paid over $411 million for 3.5 million barrels from Exxon Mobil, 2 million barrels from Shell Trading Company, and 500,000 from Macquarie Commodities Trading US.
From February to May next year, 1.5 million barrels of sour crude oil will be sent to the Bayou Choctaw site in Louisiana every month. Many U.S. refineries are designed to handle this type of oil.
Following that, the department has just enough money in its SPR fund to buy another two million barrels for $75 each. The department will have to ask Congress for more money or convince Congress to cancel future sales required by Congress to keep filling the SPR after that.
A little over two years ago, the department worked with Congress to help replenish the SPR by stopping sales of 140 million barrels that were supposed to happen until 2027 to raise money for government projects.
