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Investing.com -- A budget proposal has been released by a U.S. House committee, proposing over $1.5 billion in funding for the restoration and maintenance of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The proposal, which was released late on Sunday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also cancels a previously mandated sale of oil from the reserve.
The proposal includes $1.32 billion for the purchase of oil to replenish the SPR, which is the world’s largest emergency crude stockpile. An additional $218 million has been allocated for the maintenance of the facility. The SPR currently holds approximately 399 million barrels, with a total storage capacity of about 727 million barrels.
Earlier in March, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright estimated that it would take $20 billion and several years to achieve former U.S. President Donald Trump’s goal of filling the SPR. This move was intended to support domestic energy producers during a period of relatively low oil prices.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which is controlled by Republicans, has included this proposal as part of a broader plan to reduce grants and loan financing in the Inflation Reduction Act, a significant climate legislation of President Joe Biden.
In 2022, Biden, a Democrat, sold a record 180 million barrels from the SPR following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This sale brought the reserve’s level to its lowest in 40 years.
The House committee’s proposal, which is due for a vote on Tuesday, also revokes a congressionally mandated sale of 7 million barrels from the SPR through the fiscal year 2027. The Biden administration had previously collaborated with Congress to cancel such mandated sales to prevent further depletion of the SPR.
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