U.S. taps strategic oil reserve again as Brent hits $117
The Department of Energy authorised up to 400,000 barrels for Phillips 66's Lake Charles refinery, as SPR stocks sit at a 1982 low.
Brent crude trading at $117.04 per barrel — up 3.42% on the day — the U.S. Department of Energy has authorised an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Phillips 66's Lake Charles refinery in Louisiana, citing a temporary disruption to crude deliveries.
The oil will come from the reserve's West Hackberry site and is available for immediate delivery. Lake Charles can process about 264,000 barrels per day, making the authorised volume roughly a day and a half of processing capacity. Phillips 66 confirmed it would receive the crude but said it did not anticipate operational impacts.
The government describes the transaction as an exchange, not a sale: Phillips 66 must return the borrowed barrels plus an additional premium volume.
The move follows a 10 October authorisation of up to 4 million barrels in emergency exchanges for ExxonMobil and BP after weather-related supply disruptions. The SPR now stands at 282.7 million barrels, its lowest level since 1982, a point some analysts regard as the operational minimum. West Texas Intermediate rose 4.07% to $103.52 on Friday.
Sources — how we know this
- PrimaryOilPrice Energy
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