DOE Cancels Purchases for Strategic Petroleum Reserve
DOE PR vs. National security: "As always, we monitor market dynamics to remain nimble and innovative in our successful replenishment approach to protect this critical national security asset."
DOE Cancels Purchases for Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Published: April 3, 2024
By Anthony Harrup
The U.S. Department of Energy canceled its latest planned purchase of oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after prices rose above the level the government targeted for buying the crude.
"Keeping the taxpayer's interest at the forefront, we will not award for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site in August and September, and will continue to solicit available capacity as market conditions allow," a department spokesperson said Wednesday.
"As always, we monitor market dynamics to remain nimble and innovative in our successful replenishment approach to protect this critical national security asset."
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The solicitations were for 1.5 million barrels to be delivered to the Louisiana site in August and 1.5 million more in September.
The U.S. government set a price of $79 or less a barrel to refill the SPR after making emergency sales in 2022 at an average price of $95 a barrel.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude has risen above the administration's maximum purchase price in recent weeks and on Wednesday was trading at $85.46 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
To date the DOE has bought 32.3 million barrels at an average price of $76.98, and accepted or scheduled about 4 million barrels in exchange returns. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that oil stored in the SPR stood at 363.6 million barrels as of March 29.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com