The U.S. Department of Energy awarded contracts for nearly 41 mln barrels of
crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, completing the final tranche of a
172 mln-barrel emergency SPR release initiated under the Trump administration to
dampen price spikes after the outbreak of war involving Iran. Contracts went to
firms including ExxonMobil. The tranche is the second-largest in U.S. history
and part of an International Energy Agency plan to release 400 mln barrels
globally; since the conflict began the U.S. has released 174.1 mln barrels,
exceeding its prior 172 mln-barrel IEA commitment.
