U.S. DOE Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Client: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)

Location: Louisiana and Texas, U.S.

Business Segment: Mission Solutions

Industry: Government

Services: Maintenance

Map showing the location of U.S. DOE Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Executive Summary

Fluor Federal Petroleum Operations (FFPO) was selected in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage and operate the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The contract had a base term of five years with an option to extend the contract term for an additional five years, for a total contract period of 10 years.

Client's Challenge

Located along the Gulf of Mexico, the SPR is the world's largest supply of emergency crude oil. Established after the 1973-74 oil embargo, the federally owned oil stocks are stored in 63 underground salt caverns in four locations in Louisiana and Texas. SPR has the capacity to store more than 700 million barrels of sour and sweet crude oil and maintains a minimum of 500 million barrels in reserves. This is estimated to be a 90-day supply for the entire U.S. in the event of a disruption in the supply chain.

Decisions to withdraw crude oil from the SPR are made by the Secretary of Energy or the President of the United States, depending on the size of the withdrawal. The SPR has been used under these circumstances only four times. Most recently, in 2022 when the U.S. government released more than 200 million barrels of crude oil that were sold under emergency declaration to offset disruptions in supply due to the start of war in Ukraine.

The SPR management office is located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Each of the SPR's four storage sites is located near a major center of petrochemical refining and processing and contains multiple underground caverns.

Bryan Mound, near Freeport, Texas, is the largest SPR site with cavern # 5 owning the distinction of being the world's largest man-made oil storage container.
Big Hill, near Winnie, Texas, is the newest SPR storage site with an optimized layout.
West Hackberry, near Lake Charles, Louisiana, has caverns that are presently being degassed to verify market oil can be delivered to meet immediate energy demands.
Bayou Choctaw, near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is the smallest SPR site. The facility has often been called upon and has demonstrated success in achieving mission critical crude oil exchanges as a result of oil supply disruptions created by hurricane conditions on oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

Fluor's Solution

Our scope at the SPR includes operating and maintaining each of the storage sites and all the related equipment, as well as ensuring cavern integrity to maintain operational readiness. The contract award capitalized on Fluor's deep management and operations experience, as well as its expertise in the oil and gas industry.

All four SPR sites have achieved and been recognized with OSHA's Voluntary Protection Program Star Status.

Conclusion

The U.S. DOE selected Fluor Federal Petroleum Operations to manage and operate the Strategic Petroleum Reserve based on Fluor's expertise in the oil and gas industry and our extensive government experience with the agency. Fluor will manage and operate the Strategic Petroleum Reserve through 2024.