The budget bill cuts the amount that crude oil purchases would replenish SPR from $1.3 billion to $171 million. This is enough to buy around 3 million barrels instead of 20 million barrels at today’s prices.
Rapidan Energy, a consultant group, told clients in a memo that the funds have been hit by the Senate struggle to find budget cuts elsewhere as the funds eased some of the cuts to green energy in a version of the House bill.
The bill is now heading to the US home, but it was unclear when lawmakers would vote.
Trump said Tuesday that he plans to fill the SPR when the market situation is correct, but when and how it was unclear. Even oil supply to SPR, which was scheduled after Biden repurchased some crude oil last year, was delayed by seven months. Biden had planned to deliver 15.8 million barrels to SPR from January to May. So far, only 8.8 million of those have been delivered to the reserve, a situation the Trump administration has denounced maintenance.
The Senate bill had taken steps to cancel 7 million barrels of sales that are mandatory by Congress. Lawmakers may cancel sales that were further mandated by law later in the year. The SPR has almost 403 million barrels, much less than the 727 million barrels held in 2009, the lowest ever. It is still the world’s largest oil emergency reserve. The US has hit record oil output under Biden, and production Trump is about to expand.
