OREANDA-NEWS. March 16, 2015. The US Department of Energy (DOE)plans to buy up to 5mn bl of sweet crude for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's (SPR) Bryan Mound storage site in Freeport, Texas. DOE will take delivery between 1 June-31 July, although the government will be able to accommodate some early deliveries in May. DOE may make multiple awards for delivery of the oil, using firm fixed-price contracts.

The US emergency oil stockpile as of 6 March contained 691mn bl, 261.9mn bl of sweet crude and 429.1mn bl of sour crude.

DOE conducted a test sale inMarch 2014 designed to assess the reserve's drawdown and distribution capabilities, selling nearly 5mn bl of sour crudeat an average price of \\$93.75/bl. The test revealed potential problems with pipeline capacity, storage space and availability of US-flagged vessels if an emergency drawdown were required, a DOE report found.

DOE is required to buy back petroleum products within a year after a test sale. The US used some of the proceeds from the test sale to create a gasoline reserve in the northeast in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. DOE will use the remaining funds to buy back crude for the SPR.

DOE is able to take advantage of the plunge in oil prices last year to help replenish the reserve, with benchmark WTI prices below \\$50/bl.