Expanding Petroleum Reserve Won’t Raise Prices, DOE Secretary Vows

The Bush administration’s effort to expand the Strategic Petroleum Reserve will not drive up oil prices on the open market, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said today.

The government will buy oil for the reserve in quantities that will be largely “inconsequential” on the worldwide market, Bodman told a Washington energy conference.


The Energy Department currently has roughly $500 million available for buying oil and will start its purchases this spring, Bodman said.

“We have enough cash to get started in the process,” he said.

The petroleum reserve contains roughly 690 million barrels of oil, with a maximum capacity of 727 million barrels. President Bush announced his policy in his State of the Union address that he plans to expand the reserve to 1.5 billion barrels.

Greenwire