Trump Administration Seeks Bids for 30 Million Bbl From Strategic Petroleum Reserve — OPIS

The Department of Energy is going ahead with planned releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, even as the U.S. has agreed to a two-week cease-fire with Iran that could boost global oil supply.

The department on Thursday issued a solicitation for bids for a 30 million bbl exchange return from the reserve's site in West Hackberry, La.

The oil included in the solicitation will be sweet crude, the solicitation announcement said.

The solicitation is the third exchange return planned as part of the Trump administration's efforts to release 172 million bbl from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help deal with supply disruptions caused by the fighting in Iran. So far, 55 million bbl have been released from the reserve as part of the exchange return program, the department said.

The release of U.S. supplies is part of a coordinated effort by member nations of the International Energy Agency to release a total of 400 million bbl from strategic stockpiles in response to Iran's blocking tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest solicitation calls for companies to submit bids by 11 a.m. CT Monday. Under the exchange return, companies that receive barrels from the SPR will return the oil with additional premium barrels by next year, the DOE announcement said.

The U.S. and Iran on Tuesday agreed to a two-week cease-fire to allow for negotiations aimed at ending the conflict in the Persian Gulf region. As part of the cease-fire agreement, Iran has agreed to reopen the strait. News reports, however, indicate that tanker traffic remains effectively at a standstill.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

-- Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Michael Kelly, mkelly@opisnet.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 09, 2026 17:54 ET (21:54 GMT)