美国因油价下跌暂停出售战略石油储备

据世界石油网站3月10日报道 在全球原油价格自1991年以来暴跌最多之后，美国暂停了从国家紧急储备中出售1200万桶石油的计划。

美国能源部发言人Jess Szymanski周二在一份声明中表示：“鉴于目前的石油市场，现在不是出售石油的最佳时机。”

从战略石油储备中出售石油是计划在2020财政年度为政府项目筹集4.5亿美元的定期削减计划的一部分。周一，沙特阿拉伯和俄罗斯爆发价格战，导致原油价格暴跌，从而扩大了因冠状病毒蔓延而造成的损失，这一时机因此受到质疑。

投标截止日期不迟于3月11日，石油将于4月和5月交付。

包括Capital Alpha Partners LLC公司Jim Lucier在内的分析师已经预料到了这一决定，他在周一表示：“我们有可能推迟战略石油储备的销售，直到情况有所好转。”

上个月，政府提议将紧急储备的1500万桶石油出售，作为其2021财年预算计划的一部分，此前曾提议将其减半。该石油储备是在上世纪70年代阿拉伯石油禁运之后所建立，也是为了应对卡特里娜飓风等紧急情况而动用。

据彭博社计算，近几年来，在交货月份，西德克萨斯中质原油的销售收入普遍高于平均价格，但这并不能说明政府所出售的石油种类。

王磊 摘译自 世界石油

原文如下：

U.S. suspends sale from Strategic Petroleum Reserve on price dive

The administration suspended a planned sale of 12 MMbbl of oil from the nation’s emergency reserves after world crude prices plunged the most since 1991.

“Given current oil markets, this is not the optimal time for the sale,” Jess Szymanski, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The sale from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was part of a regular drawdown schedule intended to raise $450 million for government programs in fiscal year 2020. That timing came into question after crude slumped on Monday as a price war broke out between Saudi Arabia and Russia, extending losses spurred by the spreading coronavirus.

Bids had been due no later than March 11 and the oil was going to be delivered in April and May.

The decision had been anticipated by analysts including Jim Lucier from Capital Alpha Partners LLC, who said on Monday that “it’s reasonably likely that we can delay or defer the SPR sales until the worst of this is over.”

Last month, the administration proposed selling 15 million barrels of oil from the emergency stockpile as part of its fiscal 2021 budget plan and has previously proposed reducing it by half. The oil reserve, set up after the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s, has also been tapped in response to emergencies, such as Hurricane Katrina.

In recent years, sales have generally earned more than the average West Texas Intermediate crude price during the month of delivery, according to Bloomberg calculations. But that doesn’t account for the type of oil the government is selling.