DOE presses SPR lease, Maya trade

The U.S. Department of Energy has renewed its offer to lease short-term crude oil storage space to private firms at its West Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve site near Lake Charles, La. DOE will keep its offer open for several months in case commercial tankage arrangements can be adjusted to permit oil to be moved via a privately owned terminal to the West Hackberry site, which has 20 million bbl of available capacity (OGJ, Aug. 3, 1998, p. 26).

Aug. 24, 1998

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The U.S. Department of Energy has renewed its offer to lease short-term crude oil storage space to private firms at its West Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve site near Lake Charles, La.

DOE will keep its offer open for several months in case commercial tankage arrangements can be adjusted to permit oil to be moved via a privately owned terminal to the West Hackberry site, which has 20 million bbl of available capacity (OGJ, Aug. 3, 1998, p. 26).

Private firms told DOE the lack of available holding tanks at the terminal precluded them from responding to DOE's initial offer. The terminal is a receiving facility for crude en route to the West Hackberry site.

Separately, DOE is accepting offers to exchange the 11 million bbl of Maya crude stored at its Bryan Mound site near Freeport, Tex., for higher-quality crude that would be easier to distribute to the market.

DOE said the Maya crude is heavier than typical SPR crudes and is stored separately in a cavern at Bryan Mound.

It explained, "The need to keep the Maya oil separated reduces the overall efficiency and rate at which oil can be withdrawn from the Bryan Mound site to respond to an energy emergency."

In the solicitation, DOE offered to exchange the Maya crude for a higher quality of either sweet or sour crude. DOE will offer to continue storing the Maya oil for up to a year.