US Agreed 1.8mbbls SPR exchange with Exxon & Phillips

The US agreed an exchange of 1.8mbbls of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with Exxon Mobil Corp. and Phillips 66 according to the Energy Department on Friday.

• The exchange is to “address potential supply disruptions” to areas affected by the outage of the Keystone pipeline.

• Refineries such as Exxon Joliet and Phillips 66 Wood River are likely to be affected, with Exxon Mobil to receive 1.2mbbls and Phillips 66 to get 0.6mbbls.
• Other refineries impacted by the Keystone shutdown also include Citgo Petroleum Corp. Lemont, Marathon Petroleum Corp Robinson and BP PLC Whiting in Indiana
• “The US Department of Energy (DOE) encourages refiners to prioritize refined products, including heating oil for the Northeast region of the United States, and remains committed to supporting those efforts,” said the DOE.
• The Keystone pipeline partially restarted on 14 Dec with the segment to Patoka estimated to be running at about half capacity. The company was last week aiming for a full restart on 20 Dec.