Energy Department seeks bids for exchange of up to 40 million barrels

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Tuesday issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to exchange up to 40 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), continuing its execution of a 172-million-barrel release.

DOE said President Trump previously announced the 172-million-barrel release in coordination with the International Energy Agency (IEA) member nations' overall 400-million-barrel commitment.

The crude oil will come from the SPR's Big Hill and Bryan Mound sites, the department said. It said DOE's five previous solicitations collectively awarded more than 133 million barrels across four completed exchanges.

"While the United States and Japan are delivering on their commitments, several European member countries have released only a fraction of the crude oil and petroleum products they pledged. We urge every member country to fulfill its commitments," U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said.

Wright also said the exchanges would ensure the reserve continues to be refilled "while saving taxpayers more than $3 billion."

Under DOE's exchange authority, participating companies will return the 40 million borrowed barrels with additional premium barrels, the department said. It said this would increase the SPR's long-term inventory at no cost to taxpayers.

DOE said its earlier exchanges achieved a 25 percent premium in returned barrels.

Deliveries under awarded exchanges are scheduled for November and December 2026, according to DOE. Bids are due no later than 11:00 a.m. Central Time on Tuesday, Oct 6, 2026.