WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today announced an additional Notice of Sale of up to 40.1 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). This Notice of Sale is part of President Biden’s announcement on March 31, 2022, to release one million barrels of crude oil a day for six months to address the significant global supply disruption caused by Putin’s war on Ukraine and help stabilize volatile energy costs for American families. 

In accordance with the President’s announcement, 90 million barrels will be released between May and August through two notices of sale totaling 70 million barrels and 20 million barrels from ongoing emergency sales. DOE has been executing on this announcement releasing oil from the Reserve at approximately that rate over the last several weeks.

Today’s notice of sale represents the next step in executing on this release. The release is being done in stages. The first 90 million barrels will be released between May and mid-August. This includes 20 million barrels already scheduled to be released in May before the President’s March announcement, 30 million barrels noticed for sale on April 1 following the President’s announcement, and the 40 million barrels being released through this notice of sale. The remaining 90 million barrels will be released between August and October.

Under this notice of sale, the SPR is offering to release up to 39 million barrels of sour crude oil and 1.1 million barrels of sweet crude oil, totaling 40.1 million barrels.

DOE plans to deliver SPR sweet crude oil from June 21 until June 30 and SPR sour crude oil from July 1 until August 15. DOE must receive bids for this notice of sale no later than 10:00 a.m. Central Time on June 1, 2022, and will award contracts to successful offerors no later than June 10, 2022. 

The sale will be conducted with crude oil from the following four SPR sites:

• Up to 12.5 million barrels from Big Hill
• Up to 12.5 million barrels from West Hackberry
• Up to 8 million barrels from Bryan Mound
• Up to 7.1 million barrels from Bayou Choctaw

The SPR is the world's largest supply of emergency crude oil, and the federally owned oil stocks are stored in underground salt caverns at four storage sites in Texas and Louisiana. The SPR has a long history of protecting the economy and American livelihoods in times of emergency oil shortages.

Any company registered in the SPR’s Crude Oil Sales Offer Program is eligible to participate in this and other SPR crude oil sales. Other interested companies may register through the SPR’s website: Crude Oil Sales Offer Program.

For more information on the SPR, please visit Infographic: Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Fact Sheet: Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Sign up to receive future FECM news alerts here.