The administration of President Biden said recently it has increased the purchases of crude oil to replenish the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve. Department of Energy on June 7 issued two solicitations to buy a total of 6 million barrels of crude for delivery to the Bayou Choctaw SPR site in Louisiana from September to December. DOE’s purchasing rate would increase to about 4.5 million barrels per month for September, October and November from about 3 million barrels now.
The SPR is stored at four sites on the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, but two of those sites have been undergoing maintenance to slow purchases. Jennifer Granholm, energy secretary, told Reuters, “All four sites will be back up by the end of the year so one could imagine that pace would pick up depending on the market.” DOE wants to buy oil for the SPR at about $79 per barrel.