The United States will take bids this fall to buy back 60 million barrels of crude oil for the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the first step in replenishing the stockpile after a record-sized release of 180 million barrels this spring, the Department of Energy said on Thursday.

The call for bids on the initial 60 million barrels "will take place in the fall of 2022 to secure delivery in future years when prices are anticipated to be significantly lower than they are today," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in a press release detailing the plan.