- The US government raked in nearly $4 billion from oil sales this year, the Wall Street Journal reported.
- To lower gas prices, President Joe Biden approved releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in March.
- Since then, the US has sold 180 million barrels of crude oil at an average price of $96.25 per barrel.
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The U.S. government pocketed about $4 billion this year from the sale of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
In the week ended December 9, the US released about 4.7 million barrels of crude oil and the Department of Energy has said it will complete deliveries this month.
Since President Joe Biden tapped into the reserves in March, shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the US has sold 180 million barrels of crude oil at an average price of $96.25 a barrel, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, hovered around $80 a barrel on Monday. West Texas Intermediate is trading at around $75 a barrel.
The White House has said it will buy oil for the SPR if US crude prices reach $70-$75 a barrel.
Last week, the Department of Energy solicited bids for 3 million barrels to be delivered to its Texas deposit in February.
But officials also said the government was in no rush to fully replenish crude oil reserves, which currently stand at about 382 million barrels, as current levels are high enough to weather any supply shocks.
A senior administration official told the Journal that the Department of Energy has leeway to wait for lower market prices before starting to buy up oil to replenish the SPR, saying the process could take years.
At its peak in 2009, strategic oil reserves contained 727 million barrels, Department of Energy data shows. Earlier this year, they were around 593 million barrels.