Energy Department names companies that bought oil from last SPR release
The last 10 million barrels from the release announced by President Biden have been sold
The Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday revealed the names of the entities that won bids to purchase the latest oil released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by President Biden.
The 10.15 million barrels awarded for delivery next month constitute the last bit of the 180 million barrels of oil that the president announced in March would be released from the already-depleted SPR over a six-month period to curb high gas prices.
Oil pumpjacks stand in the Inglewood Oil Field on November 23, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. ((Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Seven of the eight buyers announced Friday are headquartered in the U.S.: Atlantic Trading & Marketing Inc., Equinor Marketing & Trading, Macquarie Commodities Trading U.S., Marathon Petroleum Supply and Trading, Motiva Enterprises, Phillips 66, and Valero Marketing and Supply Company.
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The only foreign-based company to purchase from the last release is Shell Trading (US), a subsidiary of Shell plc, headquartered in London.
President Biden announced March 31 that the U.S. would release roughly a million barrels of oil a day from its reserves for six months. (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The Biden administration has received criticism from Republicans over earlier SPR releases that ended up in China. The White House defended the sales, saying that previous administrations, including the Trump administration, have also sold crude oil to Chinese state-owned companies through the competitive bidding process.
FOX Business' Edward Lawrence and FOX News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.