The oil, which is for delivery
to the SPR in November, is being purchased at an average price of $77.69 per
barrel, the department said.
The
replenishment of the SPR is needed after President Joe Biden ordered the
sale of 180 million barrels over six months in 2022 in an effort to control
fuel prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The DOE said it has purchased
back 38.6 million barrels, and that it would continue to look for opportunities
to buy back oil for the stockpile.
The
Biden administration has said it is looking to buy back oil for the
SPR at about $79.99 per barrel or lower The
U.S. government created the SPR after the Arab oil embargo in the
1970s sparked fears about supply, damaging the economy.
The DOE
awarded contracts on Monday to BP Products North America Inc, for 600,000
barrels, Macquarie Commodities Trading US LLC, for 1.5 million barrels, and
Atlantic Trading & Marketing, which sold 900,000 barrels.
The Biden administration says it has
a three-pronged strategy to return oil to the reserve. That includes buying back oil,
the return of oil loaned from the SPR to companies, and the
cancellation of congressionally mandated sales of 140 million barrels of SPR oil through
2027.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers had voted
for those sales to pay for government programs.