Energy Chief Plans to Seek $20 Billion to Refill Oil Reserve
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Energy Secretary Chris Wright plans to seek up to $20 billion to accomplish President Donald Trump鈥檚 goal of refilling the nation鈥檚 depleted oil reserve to its maximum capacity.
The initiative, which may take years, would restore holdings 鈥渏ust close to the top鈥� to maintain efficient operating status, Wright said in an interview on March 6 in Louisiana after touring a natural gas export plant.
Trump said he planned to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve during his inaugural address in January, part of a broad embrace of conventional energy that鈥檚 also included pledges to boost domestic oil production and roll back regulation. The storage facility 鈥� the largest of its kind 鈥� is meant to provide a cushion to guard against crude supply disruptions.
鈥淯ltimately that鈥檚 what it was built for 鈥� to have the maximum security for the American people,鈥� Wright said.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve storage at the Bryan Mound site in Freeport, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images via Bloomberg News)
The reserve was created in a network of salt caverns in the aftermath of the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s. It has maximum capacity of about 700 million barrels. Holdings were sharply reduced during former President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration as gasoline prices spiked following Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine. They currently stand at 395 million barrels, according to Energy Department data.
Congress will need to approve funding to refill the system, which isn鈥檛 guaranteed. Energy Department funds for purchases ran out after the Biden administration bought about 60 million barrels. Wright said he had yet to make a specific request to Congress for more funds.
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In all, the U.S. sold about 290 million barrels from the reserve under Biden, including the emergency drawdown, as well as other sales mandated by Congress to pay for unrelated things such as road repairs.
Those removals may have come at a cost for the reserve, which has suffered from infrastructure problems because of its age, Wright said.
鈥淲as there some damage from the rapid drawdowns?鈥� Wright said. 鈥淚t appears that there was. So certainly some of the money we are going to spend is going to be maintenance.鈥�
