The government funding bill U.S. lawmakers are trying to pass cancels "certain" congressionally mandated sales of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), a summary showed on Dec. 20.
Congress mandated in previous laws a sale of about 147 MMbbl of oil from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2027.
The bill "cancels certain future Congressionally mandated sales, reducing the technical burden on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve system," said a summary of supplementary legislation on aid for Ukraine released with the text of the $1.66 trillion funding bill.
ClearView Energy Partners, a nonpartisan research group, said in a note to clients that the language in the legislation indicates that about 140 MMbbl in sales will be canceled. The bill retains sales of about 26 MMbbl of oil from the SPR in fiscal 2023, ClearView said.
The Biden administration is beginning to buy back oil for the reserve after it sold 180 MMbbl from the SPR to counter high oil prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That sale shrunk levels in the SPR to about 380 MMbbl, their lowest since 1984, raising concerns about energy security.
The U.S. Senate planned to take its initial vote on the funding bill on Dec. 20 as lawmakers scrambled to pass the measure and avert a possible partial government shutdown beginning on Dec. 24.
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