US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Drops Below 300 Million Barrels

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday (12/8) that the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) slumped to 298.7 million barrels in the week ending 7 August, reaching its lowest level since January 1983.

According to the EIA’s latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report, the reserve has declined week-on-week for 20 consecutive weeks since late March, with total crude oil releases reaching 116.7 million barrels during that period.

The reserve is expected to fall further to 243.4 million barrels if the US Department of Energy fully implements its plan to release additional oil.

US President Donald Trump has authorised the Department of Energy to release 172 million barrels from the reserve over approximately 120 days, as announced by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright in March.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established in December 1975 following the Arab oil embargo, has a capacity of 727 million barrels. Statistics show that the US held more than 726 million barrels in reserve from December 2009 to July 2011.

However, the emergency oil reserve has shrunk significantly in recent years following supply disruptions triggered by the Ukraine conflict in 2022.