The U.S. Department of Energy is purchasing over 4.6 million barrels of crude oil to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), marking the latest effort to refill the emergency stockpile. This move comes after the release of more than 180 million barrels in 2022 to mitigate the impact of rising gas prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As of July 19, the reserve, located in Louisiana, held approximately 374 million barrels of oil.
The Biden administration has been steadily refilling the SPR, which reached a four-decade low following the unprecedented drawdown. Since then, the administration has purchased some 43.25 million barrels of oil to help replenish the emergency cache, including the 4.65 million barrels announced recently. However, the administration only has about $1.2 billion left in the account it maintains to purchase oil for the reserve, which is roughly enough for 15 million more barrels.
Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk stated that the administration would like to purchase more oil but needs additional funds to do so. The Energy Department is in contact with Congress to secure these funds and is also asking Congress to cancel additional reserve sales it has mandated.
The SPR currently holds 375 million barrels of oil, a significant decrease from the approximately 600 million barrels it held at the start of 2022. Despite the challenges, the administration is committed to continuing its efforts to replenish the reserve into the next year.