Biden administration completes 'final' Strategic Petroleum Reserve refill purchase

The administration of US President Joe Biden has completed what it called its "final" purchase of crude oil in its efforts to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the US Department of Energy announced.

The purchase of 2.4 million barrels not only completes DOE's most recent solicitation, DOE said in its release, but ends the administration's attempts to replace the 180 million barrels of crude it released into the market in 2022.

"With the awarding of these contracts, DOE has fully utilized all funding allocated for crude oil purchases following the sale of 180 million barrels in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and secured 20 million more barrels at a good price for taxpayers," US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in a statement. "This milestone cements President Biden and Vice President commitment of putting the economic and energy security of the American people first with actions that steadied prices at the pump, provided certainty to industry, and maintained the SPR as the world's largest supply of emergency crude oil."

To date, the DOE has directly purchased 59 million barrels of oil at an average price of $76/b. Alongside the cancellation of congressionally mandated sales of 140 million barrels, DOE has now accounted for more barrels than it sold in 2022. DOE said the 200 million barrels delivered were contracted at an average price of $74.75/b.

That 2022 sale -- taken in response to global energy price spikes in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- was made at an average cost of $95/b. The Biden administration has consistently touted its buyback strategy as a "good deal for taxpayers."

Analysis from US Treasury Department has argued that the US' releases, alongside those of international partners, reduced gasoline prices by as much as 40 c/gallon. Republicans on Capitol Hill have criticized the Biden administration for reducing US emergency energy security and politicizing the US strategic reserve, while US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm has noted that the US stockpile remains the world's largest.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, the SPR held 387.2 million barrels as of Nov. 1. When Biden was inaugurated in January 2021, the SPR held 638 million barrels.

While DOE's announcement marked the end of Biden's crude trading efforts, SPR purchases could resume in 2025. President-elect Donald Trump criticized the Biden administration's strategy and vowed to "immediately refill" the SPR if he was elected to a second term.