US to release more crude from SPR amid Middle East conflict

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for an emergency exchange of up to 40 million bbls of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR).

IMAGE: Oil storage facility. Getty Images

The move continues the DOE’s rollout of the US’ 172 million bbls contribution to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) coordinated effort to stabilise global oil supplies amid the Middle East conflict.

The crude oil will originate from the SPR’s Big Hill and Bryan Mound sites, the DOE said. The latest SPR action builds on four previous emergency exchange RFPs of about 133 million bbls.

The move is expected to ensure the SPR grows beyond current levels, while delivering immediate supply to refiners and the global oil market, according to the DOE. Bids for the solicitation will end before 15 June, the DOE said.

“Under DOE’s exchange authority, participating companies will return the 40 million borrowed barrels with additional premium barrels,” the US agency added.

Separately in May, the DOE released about 53.3 million bbls of crude oil from its Bayou Choctaw, Bryan Mound, Big Hill and West Hackberry sites to nine refiners including BP, ExxonMobil, Marathon Petroleum and Phillips 66.

The US SPR stands at around 349 million bbls as of 5 June, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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