The U.S. Department of Energy will offer another 40 million bbl of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, moving to complete a 172 million-bbl emergency drawdown pledge nearly seven months into the Iran war.

The barrels will go to market through an exchange, DOE said. The offering marks the final tranche of the 172 million bbl the United States committed to a coordinated release organized by the International Energy Agency.

The sale lands with refined-product prices still climbing. Diesel has topped $6/gal., and gasoline remains elevated, sustaining pressure on the administration to keep supply moving out of the reserve.

Reserve draw continues

The SPR ended August at 286.6 million bbl. Another 3.1 million bbl left the reserve during the week ending Aug. 28, according to DOE data, extending a weekly drain that has run since the coordinated release began.

At 286.6 million bbl, the reserve sits well below levels that preceded the IEA-coordinated program. The 172 million-bbl U.S. share, once the final 40 million-bbl exchange clears, will bring the total pledged volume to market.

Why it matters

An exchange structure, rather than a straight sale, means recipients return barrels to the reserve at a later date — a mechanism DOE has used to bridge acute supply dislocations without permanently shrinking the stockpile. For refiners, the timing matters: a 40 million-bbl tranche arriving while diesel cracks are wide adds crude supply to a market where product, not feedstock, is the binding constraint.

The $6-plus diesel print reflects the demand side of the ledger that the SPR release addresses only indirectly. Crude releases can soften feedstock costs, but distillate scarcity tied to the conflict keeps product margins the variable to watch.

Watch items

Two numbers frame the next phase. First, the response to the exchange offer — bid volumes and award pricing will signal how much refiners and traders value the additional crude. Second, the pace of the weekly SPR draw once the final tranche begins delivering; the 3.1 million-bbl outflow for the week ended Aug. 28 shows the release is still moving barrels at a steady clip.

After this tranche, the coordinated IEA release is complete. Whether the reserve starts rebuilding — and on what schedule — becomes the next question for a stockpile now under 300 million bbl.