The U.S. Department of Energy announced Friday that it has decided to lend 26.03 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to nine petroleum companies amid the ongoing Middle East turmoil, according to the Department's Office of Petroleum Reserves.
This marks the third tranche of SPR releases by the Trump administration since the onset of U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran on February 28.
According to details posted by the Department's Office of Petroleum Reserves, the latest tranche is from the SPR's West Hackberry site in Louisiana. Deliveries are scheduled to take place in May and June 2026.
The Department has already completed two previous exchanges totaling 45.2 million barrels in the first batch and 8.48 million barrels in the second.
The action is part of the United States' commitment to contribute 172 million barrels from the SPR over 120 days, with supplies extending into 2027.
The U.S. contribution followed the announcement by International Energy Agency (IEA) on March 11, 2026 that its 32 member countries had agreed to collectively release 400 million barrels of strategic reserves.
According to the rules, the lending of strategic petroleum reserves function like loans. The companies receiving the oil are required to return an additional amount of oil when repaying.
U.S. loans over 26 million barrels of crude oil from Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The 2026 Beijing Book Fair opened on Saturday simultaneously at four majors parks across the city, set to offer a month-long cultural feast for visitors.
On Saturday morning, the Chaoyang Park in downtown Beijing was bustling with enthusiastic book lovers eager to read and buy books.
"I love to read books about history. This is the latest book of Chinese novelist Ma Boyong and it was sold at 35 percent off. I think it is a good deal," said a resident surnamed Huang.
Running until May 17, the book fair sees participation by more than 2,000 bookstores across the city, with the event's four venues at the Chaoyang Park in the east, the Shougang Park in the west, the Nanyuan Forest Wetland Park in the south, and the Yuanmingyuan Ruins Park in the north covering a total area of approximately 16,000 square meters, setting a new record for scale. Over 70 related events will be held in residential communities, commercial districts and schools.
"We have set up centralized exhibition areas in parks located in the east, south, west and north of the city, in striving to expand the coverage of the book fair," said Li Kun, an official from the publicity department of Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.
To boost spending, Beijing plans to distribute a total of 6 million yuan (around 880,056 U.S. dollars) in book vouchers at the event. Meanwhile, visitors who attended the ongoing 16th Beijing International Film Festival screenings can receive book vouchers at book fair by presenting their film ticket stubs.
2026 Beijing Book Fair kicks off in four major parks
