The Biden administration said on Monday it had purchased another 3.4 million barrels of oil for the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve, restocking inventories as crude oil prices extended their recent decline.
The latest deal for deliveries into the SPR for three months beginning in January brings the administration’s direct purchases of crude oil for the SPR to 50 million barrels. The Department of Energy said the average cost of the new purchases was about $76 per barrel, nearly $20 lower than the average price the department received when it sold 180 million barrels in 2022 to calm the markets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices soaring.
“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,” the department said in a press release announcing the latest purchase.
The SPR contained about 380 million barrels of oil at the end of August, according to government data. That was higher than the low point of 347 million in July 2023, but still well below that roughly 600 million barrels the reserve contained before Russia launched its invasion.
