The United States is preparing to buy up to 3 million barrels of sour crude to begin replenishing its soon-to-deplete strategic oil reserve, according to people familiar with the matter.
In addition to buying crude directly, the DOE said part of its strategy to replenish reserves includes returning oil from previous deals and avoiding “unnecessary sales unrelated to supply disruptions.”
The U.S. Department of Energy had previously successfully canceled sales of about 140 million barrels of oil authorized by Congress.