US will buy back SPR crude at low-$70s/b – Biden energy advisor

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – The US will start buying back oil to refill depleted Strategic Petroleum Reserve tanks when spot oil prices are in the low $70s per barrel range, said Amos Hochstein, US special presidential coordinator for President Joe Biden.

The comments come after this year's controversial sale of 180 million barrels of crude oil from emergency stocks in a bid to tackle soaring gasoline prices for American motorists.  

"The President would like to replenish the SPR in full of what we released and when prices start reaching towards that $70 (per barrel) mark that's when we'll look to increase and repurchase oil into the SPR," Hochstein told CNBC, although added the $72-$73/b WTI range might also be considered.  

"We still have 400 million barrels, we still can manage any emergency," said the advisor, but conceded that the SPR needs to be higher than current levels for national security and economic reasons.

Hochstein said that tapping the SPR was critical in bringing prices down this year.

"Oil prices are still a bit higher than they should be," although he noted the administration was happy with the trajectory of oil prices.  

The US administration had previously suggested a repurchase price in the $67-72/b range.

Emergency oil stocks in November fell below 400 million barrels, the lowest level since 1984, which analysts say limits the potential for further largescale sales next year. 

Meanwhile, US House Republicans will launch an investigation into what they say could be the "potential misuse" by the Biden administration of the nation's emergency oil reserves to lower gasoline prices, as well as White House considerations over a fuel-export ban.