Snowballer wrote: I was curious about my last post on government apetite for SPR sales to reduce energy price pressures for Americans.
Turns out there is precedence to sell reserve oil to 'smooth' the books so to speak for the American people. Is it a crazy idea for the Biden Administration to consider this an option?
If oil hits $80-$100 and the structual deficit remains tight for the next 12 to 24 months I wonder if they would consider this. Visit SPR Website to look up history of SPR Releases
https://www.energy.gov/fe/services/petroleum-reserves/strategic-petroleum-reserve/releasing-oil-spr#1997WeeksIsland
1996-97 Sales to Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit
The second sale of Weeks Island crude oil was directed by Congress in the Omnibus Consolidated Rescissions and Appropriations Act of 1996, enacted April 26, 1996. It required the sale of $227 million worth of oil during fiscal year 1996 to reduce the federal budget deficit. This sale was performed in the same manner as the first. From May 22 through August 5, 1996, the Defense Fuel Supply Center awarded twenty-four contracts to nine oil companies. Deliveries of 12.8 million barrels were made from May 26 through September 17, 1996. This sale yielded $227.6 million in revenue for the U.S. Treasury, or $17.81 per barrel.
The third sale was directed by the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1997, enacted September 30, 1996, and called for the sale of $220 million worth of crude oil to offset fiscal year 1997 appropriations. On October 3, 1996, the Defense Fuel Supply Center issued a solicitation to prospective offerors requesting bids to purchase West Hackberry sour crude oil, and a small quantity of sweet crude oil in the pipeline connecting the West Hackberry site with the Sunoco Marine Terminal in Nederland, Texas. The first purchase contracts were awarded on October 24, 1996, and by December 5, 1996, the Defense Fuel Supply Center had awarded twenty contracts to seven companies for the purchase of 10.2 million barrels to yield about $220 million in revenue. The first delivery occurred on October 29, 1996, and all deliveries were completed by January 1997.
The combined quantity sold in the Weeks Island Sales was 28.1 million barrels.