Published: November 2, 2026 |

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The Trump administration awarded contracts for nearly 41 million barrels from the nation’s emergency oil reserve, completing a massive oil exchange aimed at curbing soaring energy prices after the war with Iran.

Trafigura Trading and ExxonMobil were among the winners, according to the Energy Department. The sale marks the last of a 172 million-barrel emergency release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the second-largest in its history. The release was the US contribution to a broader International Energy Agency plan to put 400 million barrels onto global markets.

The U.S. has released a total of 174.1 million barrels since the war started, exceeding its initial 172 million-barrel pledge made with the IEA.

Crude, gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel prices have surged since military operations against Iran began on Feb. 28, intensifying pressure on President Donald Trump to address rising fuel costs ahead of November’s midterm elections, which could determine control of the House and Senate.

Still, Energy Secretary Chris Wright has signaled another drawdown from the reserve is unlikely. “I think the releases will spill into January and soon after that, you’ll see the refill start,” Wright said in an interview earlier this week.

The SPR has already fallen to its lowest level since 1982, in part because former President Joe Biden’s administration withdrew roughly 290 million barrels from the system through a series of releases, including after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Because the release was structured as an exchange, essentially a loan that companies must repay with interest, the Energy Department has said the reserve will ultimately be replenished with about 200 million barrels, or roughly 20 percent more than what was released, over the next year.

Source: Bloomberg

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