US DOE Purchased 29.61mbbl to Date at $76.57/bbl to Refill SPR

The US has awarded contracts to three companies to buy 3.25m bbl of domestic sour oil in August to refill its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, according to the Energy Department.

• Contracts were awarded to Macquarie for 1.2m bbl, Exxon Mobil for 1.05m bbl and Energy Transfer’s Sunoco for 1m bbl from 7 companies which submitted proposals.

• The average price was $77.43/bbl compared to $77.39 in the previous tender and well below the average sale price of about $95/bbl from 2022.
• The sour crude will be delivered to the Big Hill storage site in August.
• The DOE has purchased 29.61mbbl for the SPR to date at an average price of $76.57 as well as accelerated 4mbbl of exchange returns.
• SPR and internation partner releases reduced gasoline prices by as much as 40c/gallon according to analysis from the Department of the Treasury.