US solicits bids for 40 million SPR barrels

The Department of Energy is offering companies up to 40 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as the final U.S. tranche of a coordinated international release intended to address supply disruptions linked to the Iran war. The crude will be loaned through exchanges, with recipients required to return the same volume plus additional barrels; deliveries are scheduled for November and December 2026. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says the United States and Japan have met their commitments and urged European participants to deliver on theirs, while the DOE says previous exchanges helped replenish the reserve and avoid costs to taxpayers. The effort may have limited near-term impact, however: an oil analyst says weak buyer interest reflects constrained global refining capacity, and lubricant-market reporting notes that more crude will not directly relieve shortages of specialized Group III base oils used in many synthetic motor oils.