DOE seeks another 3 million bbl of crude to refill Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The US Department of Energy (DOE) issued a request for proposals (RFP) Feb. 26 from companies willing to sell another 3 million bbl of US-sourced sour crude oil to inject into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in August.
DOE is looking to purchase crude for $79/bbl or below, less than the average $95/bbl DOE received when it sold emergency SPR crude in 2022 (OGJ Online, Apr. 22, 2022; Mar. 31, 2022; Oct. 19, 2023).
Replenishment "follows [President Biden's] historic release from the SPR to address the significant global supply disruption caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine and help keep the domestic market well supplied, ultimately helping to bring down prices for American consumers and businesses," DOE said.
Bids for the latest solicitation are due no later than 11:00 a.m. Central Time on Mar. 6, 2024. Deliveries will flow into the Big Hill storage site in Texas.
DOE has already purchased a total of 23.08 million bbl for the SPR at an average price of $76.34, as well as accelerated nearly 4 million bbl of exchange returns.
DOE’s three-part SPR replenishment strategy includes direct purchases with revenues from emergency sales; exchange returns that include a premium to volume delivered; and securing legislative solutions that avoid unnecessary sales unrelated to supply disruptions. DOE said it has already secured the cancellation of 140 million bbl in congressionally mandated SPR sales scheduled for fiscal years 2024 through 2027.
Cathy Landry | Washington Correspondent
Cathy Landry has worked over 20 years as a journalist, including 17 years as an energy reporter with Platts News Service (now S&P Global) in Washington and London.
She has served as a wire-service reporter, general news and sports reporter for local newspapers and a feature writer for association and company publications.
Cathy has deep public policy experience, having worked 15 years in Washington energy circles.
She earned a master’s degree in government from The Johns Hopkins University and studied newspaper journalism and psychology at Syracuse University.
