US buys 2 million barrels of oil for Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The U.S. bought 2.1 million barrels of crude oil, the Energy Department said on Tuesday, to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) after the largest sale in history last year.
The department said it bought the oil, for delivery in February, for an average of $74.23 a barrel, below the average of $95 a barrel that oil sold for in 2022.
The administration of President Joe Biden had conducted sales last year, including a record one of 180 million barrels, to help control oil prices after Russia, a large crude exporter, invaded Ukraine.
Related Knowledge Center: Energy security and pricing
The United States achieved net energy independence in 2020, but that has not insulated the nation from the roiling of energy markets in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Europe has been a large consumer of Russian natural gas, and the effort to wean itself, with the help of the United States, has strained markets and endangered global efforts to address the climate crisis.