Exclusive: U.S. aims to lease space in emergency oil stockpile, after buying plan canceled – sources

Exclusive: U.S. aims to lease space in emergency oil stockpile, after buying plan canceled – sources

FILE PHOTO: An oil storage tank and crude oil pipeline equipment is seen during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, U.S.. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve has 77 million barrels of free capacity, a little less than the country uses in four days.. It currently holds about 635 million barrels of oil in salt caverns on the Texas and Louisiana coasts.. It was not clear if the DOE has ever before leased space in the caverns to private companies.. In response, traders in the United States and elsewhere have scrambled to find to space to hold the devalued barrels while waiting out the storm..