據鉆機地帶5月17日報道，美國能源部(DOE)宣布，將為補充戰略石油儲備(SPR)購買多達300萬桶石油。

美國能源部在其網站上發布的一份聲明中概述，此舉是政府補充戰略石油計劃的延續。美國能源部在聲明中指出，這一由三部分組成的補充戰略包括：利用緊急銷售收入直接采購、根據交付數量獲得溢價的交換退貨以及確保立法解決方案，避免與供應中斷無關的不必要銷售，從而在戰略上保持數量。

美國能源部在一份組織聲明中表示，(這一)聲明推進了政府在歷史性地釋放SPR之后的補充戰略，以解決地緣政治沖突造成的重大全球供應中斷，并為國內產量增加提供橋梁。

美國能源部補充道，美國能源部致力于執行一項為納稅人提供最佳交易的SPR補充戰略，旨在以低于2022年每桶約95美元的平均價格回購原油，同時通過為行業提供確定性來加強能源安全，從而有助于鼓勵近期供應。美國能源部指出，其打算在今年晚些時候購買更多石油。

2022年3月31日，白宮的一份情況說明書概述了政府將宣布“歷史上最大規模的石油儲備釋放，在未來六個月內，平均每天向市場增加100萬桶石油”。

該情況說明書當時指出，這次釋放規模是前所未有的——世界上從來沒有在這么長的時間內以每天100萬桶的速度釋放石油儲量。

該情況說明書補充稱：“這一創紀錄的產量將提供歷史性的供應量，在年底國內產量上升之前起到橋梁作用。”

去年11月3日，美國能源部透露，在2022年10月18日宣布出售通知后，已經授予了從SPR購買原油的合同。美國能源部當時在一份組織聲明中表示，這些合同的授予完成了政府2022年3月31日宣布釋放1.8億桶原油的聲明，以解決地緣政治沖突造成的嚴重全球供應中斷，作為戰時國內產量增加的橋梁，并幫助降低美國家庭的能源成本。

美國能源部在其最新聲明中強調，SPR仍然是世界上最大的應急原油供應。

根據美國能源信息署(EIA)的最新數據顯示，截至2023年5月5日當周，美國在SPR中的原油期末庫存為3.62014億桶。根據EIA數據顯示，在2022年5月6日當周，這一數字為5.42994億桶，在2021年5月14日當周，這一數字為6.30127億桶。

在本月早些時候發布的最新短期能源展望（STEO）中，EIA預計，2023年和2024年，SPR中的原油期末庫存將達到3.456億桶。在4月發布的上一次STEO中，EIA預測，在2023年和2024年，SPR中的原油期末庫存將達到3.452億桶。

美國能源部網站指出，戰略石油儲備的建立主要是為了減少石油產品供應中斷的影響，并履行美國在國際能源計劃下的義務。聯邦政府擁有的石油儲備儲存在墨西哥灣沿岸四個地點的地下鹽穴中。

郝芬 譯自 鉆機地帶

原文如下：

USA DOE to Repurchase Up to 3MM Barrels of Oil for SPR

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced that it will purchase up to three million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

The move is in continuation of the Administration’s three-part replenishment plan, the DOE outlined in a statement posted on its website. This three-part replenishment strategy includes direct purchases with revenues from emergency sales, exchange returns that include a premium to volume delivered, and securing legislative solutions that avoid unnecessary sales unrelated to supply disruptions so as to strategically maintain volume, the DOE noted in the statement.

“[This] announcement advances the President’s replenishment strategy following his historic release from the SPR to address the significant global supply disruption caused by the war and provide a wartime bridge for domestic production to increase,” the DOE said in an organization statement.

“DOE is committed to executing an SPR replenishment strategy that provides the best deal for taxpayers - aiming to repurchase crude at a lower price than the average of about $95 per barrel it was sold for in 2022, while strengthening energy security by providing certainty to the industry in a way that helps encourage near-term supply,” the DOE added, noting that it intends to purchase more oil later this year. 

On March 31, 2022, a White House fact sheet outlined that it would announce “the largest release of oil reserves in history, putting one million additional barrels on the market per day on average, every day, for the next six months”.  

“The scale of this release is unprecedented - the world has never had a release of oil reserves at this one million per day rate for this length of time,” the fact sheet noted at the time.

“This record release will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up,” the fact sheet added.

On November 3, the DOE revealed that contracts had been awarded for the purchase of crude oil from the SPR following a notice of sale announced on October 18, 2022. These contract awards completed the announcement on March 31, 2022, to release 180 million barrels of crude oil to address the significant global supply disruption caused by the war , act as a wartime bridge for domestic production to increase, and aid in lowering energy costs for American families, the DOE said in an organization statement at the time.

In its latest statement, the DOE highlighted that the SPR continues to be the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest data, weekly U.S. ending stocks of crude oil in the SPR stood at 362.014 million barrels in the week of May 5, 2023. In the week of May 6, 2022, this figure stood at 542.994 million barrels and in the week of May 14, 2021, the figure stood at 630.127 million barrels, EIA data showed.

In its latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was published earlier this month, the EIA projected that end of period inventories of crude oil in the SPR would hit 345.6 million barrels in both 2023 and 2024. In its previous STEO, which was published in April, the EIA projected that end of period inventories of crude oil in the SPR would hit 345.2 million barrels in both 2023 and 2024.

The SPR was established primarily to reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products and to carry out obligations of the U.S. under the international energy program, the DOE’s website notes. The federally owned oil stocks are stored in underground salt caverns at four sites along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, the site highlights.