The Biden administration announced Friday it’s purchasing 6 million more barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as it continues to slowly refill the emergency stockpile.
The purchases, scheduled for October and November, come as the nation’s oil reserve is at its lowest point in 40 years following a historic 180 million barrel drawdown in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as other releases mandated by Congress.
In all, the administration is expected to purchase a total of roughly 12 million barrels this year. The department purchased 3.2 million barrels of oil for delivery in September at a price of about $71.98 per barrel, which was lower than the average $95 a barrel the crude was sold for last year, the Energy Department said.
The Energy Department said it will buy more oil for the reserve as market conditions allow.
