Since January 2023 U.S. Department of Energy has purchased about 9 million barrels of crude oil at an average price of $75 per barrel, and DOE has announced additional solicitations of 3 million barrels each for February and March 2024. The administration of President Joe Biden authorized withdrawals “to bring down gasoline prices for consumers.” Since Biden took office SPR inventory has been lowered to 347 billion barrels from 638 billion barrels. Much of the oil purchased this year was delivered to the SPR site at Big Hill in Jefferson County, 26 miles southwest of Beaumont. Big Hill has 14 storage caverns, authorized storage capacity of 170 million barrels and inventory of 122.7 million barrels.
U.S. energy secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said Dec. 1, “The SPR is a critical energy security tool and has proven effective in providing supply to industry and American consumers during times of severe disruption. We are committed to making sure it can continue to serve its mission.”