Washington (May 1, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) queried the Department of Energy about complaints that oil purchased from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) was contaminated. Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Macquarie Group, and PetroChina have all made separate complaints that purchased oil was contaminated with hydrogen sulfide, with levels high enough to potentially injure workers and damage oil pipelines and equipment and refineries. The Department of Energy reportedly paid PetroChina $1 million to clean the contaminated oil. The SPR is the country’s stockpile of crude oil and refined fuels that can be used in the case of supply disruptions and emergencies.
“If there are questions regarding the quality of oil in the reserve, it could decrease companies’ interest in SPR reserves and drive down prices they are willing to pay for it,” writes Senator Markey in the letter. “This would harm American taxpayers, who paid for this oil to be acquired, and potentially require more oil to be sold to generate the revenue required by statute further diminishing the power of our federal stockpile.”
A copy of the letter can be found HERE.
In his letter, Senator Markey asks for responses to questions that include:
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