(Reuters) – The U.S. Energy Department said on Thursday that six companies were named winners in the sale of U.S. strategic crude reserves.
The Energy Department sold 18.1 million barrels of Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) crude oil to Valero Marketing and Supply, Phillips 66, Motiva Enterprises, Marathon Petroleum, Gunvor USA and Exxon Mobil, the department said in a statement.
Valero Marketing and Supply bought more than 8 million barrels.
The SPR plans to schedule deliveries between Feb. 1 and March 31, with early deliveries available in January if arrangements can be made, the department said.
The congressionally mandated sale completes the requirement of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 to sell a total of 30 million barrels during fiscal years 2022–2025, the Energy Department added.
A total of 14 companies had submitted 111 bids for evaluation.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese and Jonathan Oatis)