Filling the SPR

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U.S. to buy initial 30 million barrels of oil for emergency stockpile:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy said on Thursday it will buy up to 30 million barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve by the end of June as a first step in fulfilling President Donald Trump's directive to fill the emergency stockpile to help domestic crude producers.

The reserve, in caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts, has 77 million barrels of available capacity. The first 30 million barrel purchase will be for both sweet and sour crude oil and will focus on buying from small and midsize producers, the Energy Department said.

The department will buy up to 11.3 million barrels of sweet crude and up to 18.7 million barrels of sour crude. The delivery date is from May 1 to June 30 and proposals are due by March 26, it said.

The reserve can receive up to 685,000 barrels per day of crude, the Energy Department said. “The SPR will help relieve oil-related disruptions to our economy,” said Steven Winberg, assistant secretary for fossil energy at the department.