US Strategic Petroleum Reserve falls to 298.7M barrels

The U.S. emergency oil reserve has fallen below 300 million barrels for the first time since the 1980s. New Energy Department data shows the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) contained just 298.7 million barrels as of Friday. The last time the level was this low was in the early 1980s, when the reserve was still being built up after its creation in 1975.

This drop reflects a decade of withdrawals that accelerated after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The Biden administration has tapped the SPR repeatedly, first to lower gasoline prices and later to backfill supply lost from the market. Congress has also approved billions in sales to fund unrelated spending, draining the reserve faster than it can be refilled. The SPR was designed to hold up to 714 million barrels as a buffer against supply disruptions. Now, at less than half that capacity, it’s barely enough for a month’s worth of emergency imports.

The shrinking reserve matters because it limits the U.S. government’s ability to respond to future oil shocks. Analysts warn that with refining capacity tight and global spare production low, another major disruption could send prices soaring. The Energy Department has started buying back oil at lower prices, but refilling the SPR will take years and require sustained high prices to justify purchases.

Without action, the reserve could keep falling. If Congress allows more sales or if another crisis forces more releases, the SPR may soon be too small to matter. That leaves the U.S. more exposed to price spikes and supply shocks than at any time since the 1980s.