Solicitation Issued to Exchange Reserve Crude Oil for Heating Oil

Acting as the contracting agent for the U.S. Department of Energy, the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) issued the solicitation today to establish an interim Northeast Heating Oil Reserve as an arm of the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

Companies are being asked to submit offers by August 1, 2000, to receive SPR crude oil in exchange for up to two million barrels of heating oil and storage capacity in the New England and New York/New Jersey areas. Contracts will be for one year with the option of a second one-year extension. The minimum quantity of heating oil to be supplied by an offeror will be 500,000 barrels.

MORE INFO Read the Techline announcing the President's decision

On July 10 President Clinton directed Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson to establish the heating oil component of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the Northeast to help protect Americans in the Northeast from possible fuel shortages this winter.

The solicitation is available from the DESC Internet web page at:

http://www.desc.dla.mil/main/f/fp/solic_f.htm

-End of Techline-

Business Contact: Brian DeLong, Defense Energy Support Center 703/767-9336
Media Contact: Drew Malcomb, U.S. Department of Energy, 202/586-5822
SPR Program Contact: David Johnson, U.S. Department of Energy, 202/586-4733