The amount of oil in the U.S Strategic Petroleum Reserve plunged last week to the lowest level since 1983 as the Trump administration continues to deploy emergency oil to minimize the damage from the war with Iran.According to federal data released Monday, US officials released another 8.9 million barrels from the SPR last week alone.The SPR is down 75 million barrels, or 18%, since the war with Iran started in late February.
At current levels, the SPR is a little less than half full.That leaves the US emergency oil reserve with 340.3 million barrels of crude, taking out the prior low set in July 2023 under President Joe Biden after Russia military operations in Ukraine.The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve remains one of Washington’s most important tools for managing energy-market disruptions, but the Iran war has exposed both its value and its limitations.
The last time the SPR had less oil than today was July 1983, when the Reagan administration was filling the reserve for the first time and when the United States had a smaller economy.The SPR has emerged as a key tool Trump officials have used to mitigate the harm of high energy prices to consumers, businesses and the economy at large.“The Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases, combined with releases by other governments and China reducing its exports, have prevented the Armageddon scenario of $150 oil from happening to date,” said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
Back-to-back wars have wiped out a large chunk from the SPR. The SPR must be at least 20% full to be operational, warned Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Reserve, last week.“We’re raising alarm bells right now,” Sommers told CNN’s Phil Mattingly on The Lead. “We’re getting to levels where we are starting to be concerned.”
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