Refilling Strategic Petroleum Reserve begins

By Alton Wallace
The Center Square

About 1 million barrels of crude oil that will go toward replenishing the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve have been purchased, the U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday.

The oil will be delivered to the Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve site near Freeport, Texas, in December and January, the Energy Department said in a statement. The U.S. petroleum reserve contains about 410 million barrels of crude oil and at full capacity can hold approximately 714 million barrels.The strategic reserve, the Energy Department said in a release, was weakened by the previous administration’s “reckless” 180-million-barrel drawdown in 2022. The drawdown caused delays to critical infrastructure maintenance and put unprecedented wear and tear on storage and injection facilities, the department said.“President Trump promised to protect America’s energy security by refilling and managing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve more responsibly,” said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Awarding these contracts marks another step in the important process of refilling this national security asset. While this process won’t be complete overnight, these actions are an important step in strengthening our energy security and reversing the costly and irresponsible energy policies of the last administration.”The Department of Energy received 18 offers from six companies vying to supply oil to the reserve.The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established in 1975 as an emergency supply of oil to offset a disruption to U.S. imports. The United States, as a member of the International Energy Agency, agreed to hold supplies of petroleum products, which includes crude oil and refined products such as gasoline and diesel fuel, equivalent to 90 days of imports.In recent years, however, the United States has often exported more petroleum products than it imported due to dramatic increases in oil production and addictions to domestic refining capacity. IEA members who are net petroleum exporters do not have the same obligation to hold reserve supplies.In October, U.S. net petroleum product exports were at approximately 5.325 million barrels per day, based on Energy Department data.The 410 barrels of crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in October was equivalent to approximately 125 days of U.S. net oil imports. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve distribution system consists of four salt dome storage sites; commercial pipelines owned by the Energy Department and commercial firms that connect to major refineries along the Gulf Coast and in the Midwest; and marine terminals operated by the department and private companies which facilitate the loading and off-loading of crude oil onto oil tankers and barges.