A U.S. House committee has proposed a budget bill that includes over $1.5 billion to replenish and maintain the Strategic Petroleum Reserve while canceling a mandated sale following significant sales in 2022.
The big picture: Specific allocations in the proposal include $1.32 billion for oil purchases to replenish the SPR, the world’s largest emergency crude oil stockpile, and $218 million for facility maintenance.
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright estimated in March that filling the SPR to President Trump’s goal would require $20 billion and years, aiding domestic energy producers during low oil prices.
- This proposal from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, controlled by Republicans, is part of a broader initiative aiming to cut grants and loan financing under President Joe Biden’s climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act.
- President Biden had sold a record 180 million barrels from the SPR in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, depleting the reserve to its lowest level in four decades.
Go deeper: The House bill under review includes the repeal of a mandated sale of 7 million barrels from the SPR through fiscal year 2027, which was intended to prevent the reserve levels from dropping further.
- The Biden administration collaborated with Congress to cancel mandated sales in efforts to maintain the SPR levels.
