The Energy Department said it had awarded contracts to loan 45.2 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as of Friday.
Companies that have been awarded the contracts include BP Products North America, Gunvor USA, Marathon Petroleum and Shell Trading, the Energy Department said in a statement.
The Trump administration is loaning oil from the strategic reserve as part of a wider agreement by countries in the International Energy Agency to release 400 million barrels of crude from reserves to tame prices that have risen during the conflict with Iran.
The U.S. is releasing oil in the form of loans that companies will return with extra barrels as a premium, a system the Energy Department said was meant to stabilize markets
US Loans 45 Million Barrels of Oil From Strategic Reserve
