US DOE to release 172 million barrels from strategic reserve

The Trump administration announced it would release 172 million barrels from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve March 11 in conjunction with the International Energy Agency.

The US Department of Energy formally announced the decision in the evening, after US President Donald Trump told Cincinnati Local 12 news he was planning to tap the reserve. DOE said the releases would begin "next week" and take approximately 120 days to fully disperse.

In its statement, DOE also said the US government had "arranged to more than replace these strategic reserves with about 200 million barrels within the next year—20% more barrels than will be drawn down—and at no cost to the taxpayer."

Republicans' 2025 budget reconciliation package included just $171 million for future SPR purchases, enough for roughly 20 million barrels at a $60/b price. Replacing barrels is also more logistically difficult than releasing them: An S&P Global Energy CERA analysis found even a fully funded SPR refill effort, made at the fastest potential speed of 4 million barrels per month, would stretch until 2031 -- a forecast that assumed Congress would cancel currently planned sales.

DOE did not immediately respond to a request for further details about the arrangement.

"I filled it up once, and I'll fill it up again," Trump said in an interview with Cincinnati Local 12 news earlier March 11 "We'll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down."

Earlier that day, the International Energy Agency unanimously agreed to release 400 million barrels of oil from its strategic stocks on March 11 as the war in the Middle East continues to roil crude markets and raise the prospect of severe long-term energy shortfalls.

Crude oil futures climbed nearly 5% on March 11 amid persistent global supply concerns, despite the IEA agreement. NYMEX front-month crude settled at $87.25/b, up roughly $20/b since Feb. 27, prior to the US-Israel attacks on Iran.

The US SPR contained 415.4 million barrels of crude as of March 6, according to the DOE. The SPR has a drawdown capability of 4.4 million b/d, and it takes 13 days from any presidential decision for oil released from the SPR to enter the US market, according to the DOE's website.

The most recent major use of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve occurred in 2022, when President Joe Biden ordered the largest release in the reserve's history in response to surging fuel prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The administration authorized the release of about 180 million barrels.