The US Department of Energy (DOE) awarded 17mn bl of crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) on 28 October as part of the emergency drawdown sanctioned in March by President Donald Trump.
Gunvor USA, Trafigura Trading, and Vitol were each awarded over 4mn bl of crude through the program. Macquarie Commodities Trading US received about 1.7mn bl and Phillips 66 about 1.4mn bl.
Last month, the DOE offered to loan up to 40mn bl of sour crude from the SPR's Bryan Mound and Big Hill storage sites in Texas, with delivery scheduled for November and December. The offer was made in an effort to lower oil prices that surged with the start of the US-Iran war.
But demand for SPR crude was lower than anticipated, with only about 25mn bl SPR crude being awarded, likely due to the high freight costs for shipping crude out of the US Gulf coast, and global refiners shifting focus to more competitively priced alternatives.
The 17mn bl of crude was first offered on 16 October, using the remaining volume that was not awarded in the first 40mn bl sour crude tranche.
Under the loan agreement, companies will have to return the amount of the crude they borrowed in 2028-29, including an additional 12.5-19.5pc of the borrowed volume as payment for the loan.
