The US Department of Energy has abandoned all plans to build petroleum product reserves on the West Coast and in the Southeast, citing high costs and the potential for market distortion, according to Steven Winberg, the agency’s assistant secretary for fossil energy. * Says West Coast, Southeast reserves costly * Trump administration has recommended selling existing gasoline reserve * New SPR report expected this fall In a letter made public Thursday, Winberg called refined product reserves “an inefficient and expensive solution to respond to regional fuel supply disruptions,” and said there would be “significant” initial capital and acquisition costs and “extremely high” lifecycle costs in them. “Unlike stored crude oil, refined petroleum products in storage must be periodically rotated to maintain product quality and usefulness in an emergency,” Winberg wrote. “This would require the US government to completely turn over the existing inventory multiple times a year, resulting in […]