The US is soliciting bids for up to 3 million barrels of sour crude oil to refill its depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Deliveries into the emergency government stockpile are planned for August, with awards to be announced in June, the Energy Department said in its solicitation Monday. The move marks the agency’s second attempt to begin replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve after it released more than 200 million barrels last year, in part to curb high energy prices.
The announcement sent US oil futures 0.5% higher to trade above $71 a barrel.
