Shell Trading, Trafigura and Marathon Petroleum were the top three bidders for crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve under the first of several releases meant to temper war-driven price hikes.
Shell was awarded 16.2mn bl, Trafigura Trading 8.86mn bl and Marathon 7.7mn bl in the auction, according to the US Department of Energy.
In addition, BP was awarded 5mn bl, Gunvor will receive 3.085mn bl, Mercuria was awarded 2mn bl, Vitol was awarded 2mn bl and Energy Transfer was awarded 375,000 bl.
DOE started to deliver the crude shipments on 20 March. The 45.2mn bl of sweet and sour crude will be drawn from three SPR storage sites in Texas and Louisiana. DOE has scheduled the crude deliveries from 1 April to 31 May, with the possibility of early deliveries.
The SPR deals will essentially be long-term crude loans, with the companies returning at least 18-22pc more crude to the SPR than they borrowed. The crude must be returned between 1 September of this year and 30 September 2028.
DOE plans to release up to 172mn bl under the current plan.
