(Investing)– U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday that current oil prices are low, making it a “great time to be a buyer” as he discussed plans to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
Speaking on Fox News, Wright indicated the government will “gradually fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve up,” following the Department of Energy’s announcement Tuesday of a solicitation to purchase one million barrels of crude oil for delivery to the SPR’s Bryan Mound site.
The purchase is part of efforts aligned with the Working Families Tax Cut signed by President Trump earlier this year, which appropriated $171 million to begin refilling the SPR.
According to Tuesday’s announcement, the SPR currently holds just over 400 million barrels of its 700 million barrel capacity. The Trump administration aims to rebuild the reserve to full operational capacity after what it described as the previous administration’s “reckless 180-million-barrel drawdown in 2022.”
The DOE stated this drawdown incurred nearly $280 million in costs, delayed critical infrastructure maintenance, and put “unprecedented wear and tear” on storage and injection facilities.
The current solicitation invites bids for an initial purchase of one million barrels through a spot-price-indexed contract, with deliveries scheduled for December 2025 and January 2026.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.
