U.S. Department of Energy said Tuesday it will resume purchases of crude oil for the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve (SPR). After pausing purchases for about a month and canceling solicitations for August and September, DOE will buy up to 3.3 million barrels of oil for delivery in October to the Big Hill SPR storage site in Jefferson County in southeast Texas near Beaumont. Bids are due May 14.
DOE has purchased a total of 32.2 million barrels at an average price of $76.98 per barrel to help fill the SPR after the Biden administration’s withdrawal of 180 million barrels in 2022 to curb oil and gasoline price increases after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.