Department of Energy Executes On Direction Of President Trump, Announces Solicitation To Purchase Crude Oil For The SPR To Provide Relief To American Energy Industry
At the direction of the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, the Department of Energy (DOE) will fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to its maximum capacity by purchasing 77 million barrels of American-made crude oil. Today, DOE announced a solicitation for the purchase of an initial 30 million barrels to begin filling the SPR. Solicitations for additional purchases will follow.
“DOE is moving quickly to support U.S. oil producers facing potentially catastrophic losses from the impacts of COVID-19 and the intentional disruption to world oil markets by foreign actors,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette.
Under this initial solicitation, DOE will purchase up to 30 million barrels of sweet and sour crude oil with a focus on small to midsize U.S. oil producers.
“The small to midsize oil producers, which are the focus of the initial crude oil purchase, employ thousands of Americans,” said Under Secretary of Energy Mark W. Menezes. “These businesses have been particularly hard hit by recent events but under President Trump’s leadership, we are taking swift action to assist hard hit producers and deliver strong returns to the taxpayer.”
Today’s solicitation is the first step toward filling the SPR to its maximum capacity. The Department is working with Congress to finalize the funding to support the purchase of the full 77 million barrels of oil, consistent with the President’s directive.
“The SPR is mission-ready to receive up to 685,000 barrels per day,” explained Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy, Steven Winberg. “With its extensive storage, pipeline, and marine infrastructure along the Gulf Coast, the SPR will help relieve oil-related disruptions to our economy.”
Recognizing the private sector needs time to plan for delivery logistics, the solicitation is for crude oil to be delivered in May and June; although, early April deliveries are encouraged.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to provide up to $22 million for research aimed at achieving breakthroughs in the effort to capture carbon dioxide directly from ambient air.
The initiative encompasses two concurrent funding announcements—one by DOE’s Office of Science (SC) and another by DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE)—and will span the spectrum from fundamental research in materials and chemical sciences to field testing of prototypes.
“Accelerating success in direct air capture of carbon dioxide would strengthen America’s energy security and open new avenues for commercial applications,” said Dr. Chris Fall, Director of DOE’s Office of Science. “While we’ve seen real progress in this field, both basic and applied research are needed to develop highly effective direct air capture technologies on a large scale.”
For the SC funding opportunity, the DOE National Laboratories are invited to submit proposals for breakthrough fundamental research in materials and chemical sciences. Applicants are encouraged to find partners at universities, National Laboratories, and other institutions. Awards are expected for both small groups and larger multidisciplinary teams.
The FE funding opportunity announcement focuses on both the applied development of new materials and the field testing of prototypes. Eligible applicants include universities, nonprofits, and industry, with a 20 percent cost share.
“The Office of Fossil Energy is excited about leveraging our existing expertise and research and development on carbon capture, utilization, and storage and working with other DOE offices to accelerate the development of direct air capture technologies,” noted Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg. “Our combined efforts and shared funding is a clear example of how the Department works seamlessly across offices.”
SC plans to provide a total of $12 million for projects three years in duration, with $4 million in Fiscal Year 2020 dollars and outyear funding contingent on congressional appropriations. FE will provide $10 million in FY 2020 funds for projects from 2 to 3 years in duration.
The SC announcement for DOE Laboratories can be found on the Office of Basic Energy Sciences website under the heading “National Laboratory Announcements.”