Petroleum storage tanks at the Royal Dutch Shell Southern California Distribution Complex in Carson, Calif. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg News)
October 21, 2025 1:09 PM, EDT
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The Trump administration plans to buy 1 million barrels for the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, taking advantage of low oil prices to begin filing the depleted stockpile.
The Energy Department intends to announce Oct. 21 that it’s seeking oil for delivery in December and January, using a portion of the $171 million from President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending law that provided for crude purchases, according to an agency official.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, is down about 30% since its peak in mid-January. It traded at about $58 a barrel on Oct. 21, near the lowest since 2021.
Trump has vowed to refill the oil reserve, which has a maximum capacity of about 700 million barrels. It currently has about 408 million barrels, but the administration has limited funds to buy more.
The reserve’s levels were sharply reduced under President Joe Biden, when gasoline prices spiked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The drawdown of some 180 million barrels in 2022 cost about $280 million and delayed maintenance, according to the Energy Department.
Bids for the Energy Department’s 1 million barrel solicitation for delivery to the Bayou Choctaw site are due no later than 11 a.m. CT on Oct. 28, the official said. The purchases will be through a spot-price-indexed contract.
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