Status of Strategic Petroleum Reserve Activities--June 1981

The Energy Security Act requires the President to resume filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) at an average rate of at least 100,000 barrels per day for fiscal year 1981 and succeeding years. The status of SPR storage facilities, oil deliveries to SPR facilities, and the Government's activities to contract for SPR oil as of June 11, 1981 were reviewed.

On May 22, 1981, DOE completed installation and testing of equipment to vent and flare gases at a mine facility where gas pressure was building up. DOE has continued to deliver oil to the facility and confirmed that it would not operate the mine facility at a pressure above 7 pounds per square inch until the flaring equipment was operational. It has used the flaring equipment to relieve pressure caused by oil deliveries. By June 2, 1981, DOE had received about 151 million barrels of oil at SPR facilities. The highest average receiving rate for a 1-month period in the history of SPR occurred in May, bringing the average receiving rate so far for fiscal year 1981 to about 236,000 barrels per day. The Government awarded contracts for about 5.5 million barrels of oil to be delivered during July and August 1981. The Defense Fuel Supply Center did not award additional contracts on June 9, 1981, because it expects crude oil prices to be the same, or to drop, by the date of the next awards. It plans to make additional awards on June 23, 1981. DOE continues to project that a presently inoperable 8-million barrel facility will be available by July 15, 1981, and half of a new 11.5 million barrel storage facility will be available during the month with the remainder on line during August and September 1981.