US buying 3 mn barrels of oil to start replenishing reserves amid OPEC cuts

The Biden administration said Friday it is buying 3 million barrels of oil to begin to replenish U.S. strategic reserves that officials drained earlier this year in a bid to stop gasoline prices from rising amid production cuts by OPEC and a ban on Russian oil imports.

President Joe Biden withdrew 180 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve starting in March, bringing the stockpile to its lowest level since the 1980s. The purchase, to begin in January, will start to replenish the reserve and is likely to be followed by additional purchases, officials said.

The Energy Department called the purchase "a good deal for American taxpayers'' since the price will be lower than the $96 per barrel average the U.S. oil was sold for. The replenishment also will strengthen U.S. energy security, the department said in a statement.

The purchase price was not announced, but benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil was selling at $74.50 per barrel late Friday.

Gasoline prices, ...