DOE to Purchase Heating Oil for the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve

Washington, D.C.  - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a solicitation seeking to purchase heating oil for the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NEHHOR) using $3 million in appropriated funds. The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve provides an important safety cushion for millions of Americans residing in the Northeast region of the country.  Due to the modest volume of heating oil expected to be purchased with the available funds, no impact on market prices is expected.     

In 2007 a 35,000 barrel sale from the NEHHOR was conducted to raise funds necessary to award new long-term storage contracts to maintain the Reserve at its authorized capacity of two million barrels of home heating oil in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2000.  Offers are due no later than July 1, 2008, and purchases are expected to be delivered during the week of July 7, 2008.  The solicitation is being made on behalf of DOE through its agent, the Defense Energy Support Center.

The Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve was established by the Energy Policy Act of 2000 to provide a short-term supplement to Northeast heating oil supplies in the event of an actual or imminent severe energy supply disruption.  Two million barrels was determined to be of sufficient size to provide relief from a shortfall in supply for approximately 10 days - the time it would take for replenishment supplies to arrive. NEHHOR currently holds 1,965,000 barrels located in three locations in the Northeast.

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