The US Department of Energy has announced a tender to transfer 30 million barrels of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve to oil companies, subject to further compensation, the department said in a statement on Thursday.

The oil will be transferred from the West Hackberry storage site in Louisiana.

Recipient companies are required to pay compensation, starting in January 2027, for any excess volume received of at least 18.5 percent.

Applications are being accepted until April 13.

On March 12, the US Department of Energy had announced plans to release a total of 172 million barrels of the oil reserve over 120 days, with the expectation of replenishing the reserve by approximately 200 million barrels over the next year.

Currently, about 415 million barrels are stored in storage sites, out of a total authorized capacity of 714 million barrels.