US SPR Reserve Falls Below 300 Million Barrels Amid Iran War Concerns

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has fallen below 300 million barrels for the first time since it was filled in the early 1980s. The SPR's inventory has been dwindling due to the release of at least 172 million barrels from its reserves to cushion the impact of the war with Iran.

Experts warn that responding to energy emergencies in the future could become more difficult if the underground caverns that store oil are damaged. The caverns need to retain roughly 70 million barrels of oil at their upper levels to ensure the extraction pipes remain safely submerged in oil rather than water, according to Siddharth Misra, a petroleum engineering professor at Texas A&M University.

Amos Hochstein, a senior energy advisor to President Joe Biden, disputed the Energy Department's claim that 70 million barrels must remain in the reserve to safely manage the caverns. Hochstein said, 'Don't believe the people out of the government that are saying the SPR can go to 70 million barrels. It’s nonsense,' and added that at the 70-million-barrel level, the reserve would be depleted to “the point of never resurrecting it.”

However, Energy Department spokesman Ben Dietderich said claims that the SPR's storage caverns are at risk of collapsing as oil is withdrawn are false.