©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm delivers a speech before a conversation with Daniel Yergin, vice president of S&P Global, during the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas, U.S., March 8, 2023. REUTERS /Callaghan o’Hare /F
By Arathy Somasekhar
HOUSTON (Reuters) – U.S. oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) at year-end will be at or above the level that existed before massive sell-offs two years ago, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Monday.
Stockpiles will reach those levels in part as Congress cancels sales of about 140 million barrels, the secretary added. The reserve currently holds about 362 million barrels, down from 638 million three years ago.
Other congressionally mandated sales could also be canceled, Granholm said.
Replenishing the SPR is a congressional priority and “that’s a conversation we’ll have with them,” Granholm said.
Completing maintenance of a storage site will allow the United States to buy more oil, Granholm said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston.
Energy officials are monitoring rising U.S. oil prices and its impact on buybacks, Granholm said. The Energy Department had aimed to buy back oil at less than $79 a barrel. Futures were trading above $82 on Monday.
He also said the Biden administration’s liquified authorization pause “will be long behind us by next year.” The break is temporary and is only for study purposes, he underlined.
He did not say when export authorizations might resume, but ruled out estimates of a 10-14 month delay.
“The LNG pause should not impact major decisions globally, because it is simply a temporary pause,” the secretary said, when asked about concern over fears of increased coal purchases in Asia.