America's emergency oil stash hasn't been this lean since the early Reagan years. According to federal data released Monday, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve now holds 340.3 million barrels, its lowest level since 1983 and less than half its 714-million-barrel capacity, the Hill reports. The drawdown has been years in the making: the Trump administration authorized a 172-million-barrel release this spring, following the Biden administration's 180-million-barrel release in 2022 to help blunt price shocks after Russia invaded Ukraine.
If the latest release is completed, the reserve will fall to around 243 million barrels, around a third of its capacity, Bloomberg reports. The reserve, held in underground tanks in Texas and Louisiana, was established in 1975 after the OPEC embargo caused an oil shock. The US burns through about 21 million barrels of oil a day, but some analysts aren't sounding alarms. "I'm not really worried about the SPR," says Tom Kloza of Gulf Oil, who argues that the overall US position looks solid.
The numbers land as the US and Iran say they've reached a deal aimed at ending the war affecting the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passage for global oil shipments. President Trump, who blasted Joe Biden in 2022 for releasing oil from the reserve, authorized the release around two weeks after the war began. The Energy Department says the reserve is being used for the purpose it was created for, and it will be refilled with 200 million barrels within a year.
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