U.S. to Loan Nearly a Third of Northeast Heating Oil Reserve

The U.S. Department of Energy said it will loan up to 315,000 barrels of heating oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, with deliveries scheduled to be completed by November 13. The amount is nearly one-third of the reserve’s one million barrels, and the department said fuel retailers and terminal holders will obtain it through competitive bidding. The oil will come from Maine, Massachusetts and Connecticut, according to the department. Borrowers must return the same volume before the next heating season, the department said. It will assess whether additional releases are needed. Energy Secretary Chris Wright described the loan as a temporary measure to address a temporary supply disruption. The reserve, held at sites in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine, has been tapped once before, after Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The announcement comes as heating costs rise ahead of winter. In Maine, where about half of households rely on heating oil, the average price was reported at $5.97 a gallon the previous week. That was below a record $6.02 the prior month but 80 cents higher than a year earlier, according to figures cited in state-focused reporting. Prices in...