The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy today announced a Notice of Sale of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

On December 10, 2016, a Continuing Resolution was passed that included a provision to allow DOE to sell up to $375.4 million worth of crude oil from the SPR in Fiscal Year 2017 in order to generate revenue to fund the necessary operational improvements to ensure the long-term integrity of SPR infrastructure as part of the SPR Modernization program.  Section 404 of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 authorized the sale of SPR crude oil, over the course of four years, to generate the $2 billion needed for the SPR Modernization program.

The Notice of Sale announced today provides for the price-competitive sale of up to 8 million barrels of sweet crude oil from three of the SPR storage sites. The sale will be conducted with crude oil from the following SPR sites:

  • up to 3 million barrels from Bryan Mound
  • up to 3 million barrels from Big Hill
  • up to 2 million barrels from West Hackberry

Bids must be received no later than 2:00 PM Central Time January 17, and contracts will be awarded to successful offerors by the end of January.  Deliveries will be scheduled to take place in March and April, with early deliveries in February accommodated to the maximum extent possible.

Any company registered in the SPR’s Crude Oil Sales Offer Program is eligible to participate in SPR crude oil sales. Companies may register by going to http://www.spr.doe.gov and then following the instructions for registering.