The U.S. Energy Department announced plans to buy 1 million barrels of crude oil to begin refilling the nation’s emergency oil reserves drawn down by the Biden administration.

Officials released a solicitation to buy the crude for its Bryan Mound site near Freeport, Texas, taking advantage of low oil prices.

Funding for the purchase was included in the Working Families Tax Cut signed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, which appropriated $171 million to begin refilling the reserve, according to the Energy Department.

“After the previous administration recklessly drained the [strategic petroleum reserve] for political purposes, President Trump promised to refill and manage this national security asset more responsibly,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. “While this process won’t be complete overnight, these actions are an important step in strengthening our energy security and reversing the costly and irresponsible energy policies of the last administration.”

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, located in underground salt caverns at four sites along the Gulf Coasts of Texas, can hold about 714 million barrels of crude oil at full capacity. The reserve was established in 1975 after the Middle East oil embargo created a supply crisis in the United States. It exists to safeguard against future U.S. oil supply disruptions.

The reserve stockpile of crude had about 394 million barrels on hand at the end of 2024.

The Biden administration released 180 million barrels of reserve oil over six months in 2022.

Critics of the drawdown claimed President Joe Biden was using the emergency oil reserves for political purposes to lower gas prices before midterm elections.

About one million barrels were released each day to combat rising gasoline prices resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The reserves were left at the lowest level since the early 1980s.

Biden’s release of reserve oil cost about $280 million and delayed critical maintenance, putting wear and tear on some of the reserve’s facilities, according to the Energy Department.

The Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an oil storage facility, is seen in this aerial photograph over Freeport, Texas on April 27, 2020. (Adrees Latif/Reuters)

The Energy Department plans to take delivery of the 1 million barrels of crude by December or January, according to its solicitation notice.

West Texas Intermediate crude continued a downward march reaching nearly $58 a barrel on Tuesday, according to oilprice.com. The price was about 30 percent lower than its peak in mid-January.