US signals 40M-barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) release

The US government has offered energy companies loans of up to 40 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), Reuters reports.

Companies have until October 6 to submit bids to borrow the oil. SPR stocks had previously fallen to 284 million barrels, their lowest level since October 1982. The latest release could push reserves below the 252.4-million-barrel threshold, the operational minimum set under US federal law.

In March, Washington agreed to release 172 million barrels from the reserve following the outbreak of the war with Iran.