The U.S. is seeking to buy about 3 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for delivery in September, the Energy Department said on Wednesday, as it slowly replenishes the emergency stash after selling a record amount in 2022.
President Joe Biden in 2022 ordered a sale of about 180 million barrels from the reserve to help calm oil prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
So far the U.S. has bought back nearly 26.3 million barrels at an average price of $76.47 a barrel, less than the average $95 per barrel price the oil was sold at, the department said.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Leslie Adler and Diane Craft)