Energy Department authorizes up to 400,000-barrel SPR exchange for Phillips 66 refinery

WASHINGTON, Oct 23 — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) authorized an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to address a crude oil supply disruption affecting the Phillips 66 Lake Charles Refinery in Louisiana, the department said.

The crude will come from the West Hackberry SPR site for immediate delivery. DOE said it will help offset temporary disruptions to crude oil deliveries to the refinery and support continued production of transportation fuels for Louisiana and surrounding markets. Under the terms of the exchange, all borrowed crude oil will be returned with additional premium barrels at no additional cost to taxpayers, according to the department.

"This emergency exchange helps alleviate supply disruption and requires Phillips 66 to return more barrels to the SPR than are currently being withdrawn," DOE Under Secretary of Energy Kyle Haustveit said. DOE said it will continue working with industry partners to help ensure stability across the fuel supply chain.