Trump Offers 40M Barrels From US Oil Reserve — But Buyers Aren’t Biting: Global Refining Capacity Is The Problem, Says Top Oil Analyst

GasBuddy analyst Patrick De Haan says that the President Donald Trump administration’s plan to offer 40 million barrels of oil is not seeing as much interest from companies, pointing to global refining capacity woes. Department of Energy Issues Request for Proposal In an official statement on Tuesday, the Department of Energy issued a request for proposal, offering up to 40 million barrels of oil to companies as part of the 172-million-barrel release announced by Trump in March this year amid the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 400-million-barrel commitment. “Deliveries under awarded exchanges are scheduled for November and December 2026,” the statement said. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the move would help “stabilize oil markets” and benefit people globally as gas prices continue to surge. “Participating companies will return the 40 million borrowed barrels with additional premium barrels, ensuring immediate market supply while increasing the SPR’s long-term inventory,” the DOE said. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that over 284 million barrels of oil remain in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as of September 18. Read Also: Iran’s Ghalibaf Reaffirms Control Over Strait of Hormuz, Touts $50 Premium on Oil Since the Beginning of War: ‘US Narrative Laundromat…’ Patrick De Haan Weighs In Taking to the social media platform X on Tuesday, De Haan said that while the U.S. was offering barrels, “not many buyers” were looking to accept the offer. “June RFP [Request for Proposal] only saw about half a million bought,” he said. De Haan added that oil was not “so much the challenge right now as global refining capacity.” US Goverment looking to sell the last 40 million barrels from the 172 million barrel SPR exchange announced back in March, but not many buyers looking. June RFP only saw about half a million bought. Oil isn't so much the challenge right now as global refining capacity.— Patrick De Haan (@GasBuddyGuy) September 29, 2026 Oil Movement At the time of writing this article, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures contracts expiring in November 2026 declined slightly to $89.30. Meanwhile, Brent futures contracts maturing in November also declined 0.34% to $95.83 at the time of writing this article. On the other hand, the United States Oil Fund (NYSE:USO) ETF was up 0.04% at $143.41 during overnight trading on Tuesday after declining 4.44% to $143.35 at market close. The ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (NYSE:UCO) ETF also gained 0.85% to $52.4 during overnight trading. Data from the American Automobile Association (AAA) showed that the national average price of gas fell to $4.4558/gallon on Tuesday. Diesel also declined, with the national average price at $6.4391/gallon on Tuesday, compared to Monday’s national average of $6.4531/gallon. Read Also: Iran's Supreme Leader Says US Won't Dare to Advance Beyond Arabian Sea While Trump Confirms Talks With Mediators Check out more of Benzinga’s Future Of Mobility coverage by following this link. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock