The U.S. Energy Department has awarded contracts covering 45.2 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the first batch in a broader loan program that officials say is intended to steady markets without direct taxpayer cost.
The awards were reported on Friday, March 20, and come from a larger 86 million-barrel request for bids issued last week. The arrangement is part of a wider International Energy Agency plan to release 400 million barrels from reserves as governments respond to higher oil prices tied to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
The Business Times report said the companies awarded contracts in the first tranche include BP Products North America, Gunvor USA, Marathon Petroleum and Shell Trading. Additional awards went to Energy Transfer Crude Marketing, Mercuria Energy America, Trafigura Trading and Vitol.
Under the loan structure described by the Energy Department, companies will return the crude later with extra barrels added as a premium. That makes the program different from a straight sale. Officials have framed it as a way to add supply during a price shock while allowing the reserve to be replenished over time.
The department has said it ultimately aims to exchange a total of 172 million barrels from the SPR and expects oil companies to return about 200 million barrels once the premium is included. The first 45.2 million barrels therefore represent only a portion of the full plan, but they show the program moving beyond the bidding stage into contract awards.
The reserve action comes at a moment when governments and markets are focused on whether coordinated releases can soften price spikes. The Business Times report said the U.S. is participating in a wider international effort rather than acting alone, with the IEA-linked release designed to ease pressure on supplies while the war in Iran continues to unsettle energy trading.
The loan program also matters because the SPR is normally treated as a strategic emergency cushion rather than a source of routine market supply. By using loans instead of permanent sales, the U.S. is trying to preserve the reserve's long-term role while still sending crude into the market now.
No further timetable for the remaining tranche was included in the report, and it was not immediately clear how quickly the rest of the planned 86 million barrels would be contracted. For now, the awards mark the first concrete step in a reserve operation aimed at balancing near-term price relief with later replenishment.
