US Buys 3Mn Barrels of Oil For Strategic Reserve

• According to the S. Department of Energy, the United States has finalized contracts to purchase three million barrels of oil to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after the largest sale in history last year.
• The department said it bought the oil for delivery to a site in Big Spring, Texas, for an average of $77.31 a barrel, below the average of $95 a barrel that oil sold for in 2022.
• Of note, President Joe Biden's administration conducted sales last year, including a record one of 180Mn barrels, to help control oil prices after Russia, a large crude exporter, invaded Ukraine.
• The U.S. has now purchased about 14Mn barrels for replenishment after last year's sales. About 4Mn barrels are also coming back to the SPR by February as oil companies return oil that had been loaned to them through a swap.
• The Energy Department had already secured the cancellation of 140Mn barrels in congressionally mandated sales from the SPR scheduled from late this year through late 2026. The cancellation "has led to significant progress toward replenishment," the department has said.

(Source: Reuters)