After Energy Secretary Chris Wright blasted the Biden administration for repeatedly tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, his department announced Friday that it would send up to 1 million barrels of crude from the nation’s stockpile to an Exxon Mobil refinery in Louisiana.
The Department of Energy said the move — known as an exchange — is intended help Exxon deal with offshore oil supply issues. A person familiar with the situation said Exxon stopped buying offshore crude from the Mars pipeline system for its Baton Rouge facility because of zinc contamination.
DOE said Exxon would eventually give more than 1 million barrels of crude back to the SPR as part of the exchange.
Mars is a major part of the Gulf of Mexico oil ecosystem, delivering about 600,000 barrels of crude to refiners per day. The Gulf of Mexico was renamed the Gulf of America by President Donald Trump earlier this year, and DOE said Friday that utilizing U.S. oil reserves would help limit supply interruptions.
