Biden-Harris Administration Strategic Petroleum Reserve Purchases Secures More Than 50 Million Barrels at a Good Deal for American Taxpayers

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The U.S. Department of Energy today announced that contracts have been awarded for the acquisition of more than 3.4 million barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The contracts awarded yesterday are for deliveries of over 1.1 million barrels per month beginning in January 2025 through March 2025 to the Bryan Mound site following the Request for Proposal (RFP) that was announced on August 26, 2024.  This solicitation is the second solicitation for this site as it has been undergoing significant construction that will ensure the longevity of the SPR for decades to come. 

To date, DOE has directly purchased over 50 million barrels of oil for the SPR at an average price of about $76 per barrel. This is nearly $20 per barrel lower than the $95 average sales price for 2022’s emergency sales, meeting the Administration’s commitment to secure a good deal for taxpayers. DOE will continue to evaluate options to refill the SPR while securing a good deal for taxpayers, taking into account planned exchange returns and market developments.  

On top of the 140 million barrels of oil secured by working with Congress to cancel previously mandated sales, this brings the total purchased or kept in the SPR since 2022 to more than 180 million barrels, exceeding the full amount sold following the unprecedented Russian war against Ukraine. DOE has also successfully accelerated approximately 5 million barrels in exchange returns initially slated for the summer of 2024 to maximize SPR refill. 
 
This milestone underscores the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to safeguard and replenish this critical energy security asset.   This follows the historic release from the SPR to address the significant global supply disruption caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine and help keep the domestic market well supplied, ultimately helping to bring down prices for American consumers and businesses. Analysis from the Department of the Treasury indicates that SPR releases in 2022 along with coordinated releases from international partners, reduced gasoline prices by as much as 40 cents per gallon.    
 
For the 3.4 million barrels of oil purchased for the Bryan Mound site, 18 valid proposals were submitted to the RFP, with contracts awarded that met quality and spec requirements, in addition to providing competitive bids. The crude oil will be delivered to the Bryan Mound SPR storage site from January 1, 2025, through March 31, 2025.

The Administration’s ongoing three-part replenishment strategy to get the best deal for taxpayers while increasing SPR stocks included: (1) Direct purchases with revenues from emergency sales; (2) Exchange returns that include a premium of oil above the volume delivered; and (3) Securing legislative solutions that avoid unnecessary sales unrelated to supply disruptions. DOE has already secured cancellation of 140 million barrels of congressionally mandated sales scheduled for Fiscal Years 2024 through 2027. The SPR continues to be the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil. The federally owned oil stocks are stored in underground salt caverns at four sites in Texas and Louisiana. Through scheduled maintenance periods and the Life Extension 2 program, DOE continues to prioritize the operational integrity of the SPR to ensure that it can continue to meet its mission as a critical energy security asset. The SPR has a long history of protecting the economy and American livelihoods in times of emergency oil shortages.
 
For more information on the SPR please visit Infographic: Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Fact Sheet: Strategic Petroleum Reserve.