Australia to spend A$94 million on oil to store in U.S. reserve

Australia said on Wednesday it would allocate A$94 million ($59 million) to buy oil to store in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, taking advantage of historically low oil prices to build up its emergency stockpile.

"Initially, that reserve will be held in the United States, where there is spare storage. We have full storages here in Australia. But in time, we are exploring opportunities with the industry to establish local storage," Energy Minister Angus Taylor said in a televised media conference in Canberra. ($1 = 1.5855 Australian dollars)