2023-05-15 21:46:07
The US Department of Energy announced that it would buy three million barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for delivery in August, and requested bids by May 31.
The administration said it would start buying oil back into reserves when prices are stable at $67 to $72 a barrel or lower, well below the level at which the oil was sold, so that taxpayers can get some benefit.
Last year, President Joe Biden’s administration conducted the largest-ever sale of reserves, amounting to 180 million barrels, as part of a strategy to stabilize rising oil markets and combat rising gasoline prices in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The sale angered Republicans, who accused the administration of reducing oil reserves to a degree that limits the ability of the United States to face a supply crisis in the future.
The sales have reduced strategic reserves to regarding 372 million barrels, the lowest level since 1983 and just short of enough to cover 20 days at current consumption rates.
US crude prices were around $71 a barrel on Monday.
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