What actions are being taken in response to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that requires fill of the SPR to its authorized size of one billion barrels?
The August 2005 EPACT directs fill as expeditiously as practicable, without incurring excessive cost or appreciably affecting the market price of petroleum products to consumers. It also requires that procedures for acquisition of crude oil be promulgated, an action that was completed with publication of the final rule on November 8, 2006. Further, in order to fill to one billion barrels, the capacity of the SPR must be increased from its current size of 727 million barrels. The expansion will require increasing the size of two current SPR sites (identified as Bayou Choctaw in Louisiana, and Big Hill in Texas), a process that may take 3-5 years, and constructing a new site (near Richton, Mississippi) that will store 160 million barrels, a process that is expected to take 10-12 years. At this time, no construction has begun for expansion of the existing sites or development of the Richton site. The selection of the sites for expansion followed a 16-month long proceeding that included ex
