The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve levels have fallen to a near 40-year low, with 349.2 million barrels remaining. This decrease comes as the war in Iran surpasses the three-month mark, causing supply shortages. The Energy Department has been releasing crude oil from the reserve to offset these shortages, with a total of 66.2 million barrels released since the initial strikes on Iran on February 28.
Background on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was established in 1975 to store up to 1 billion barrels of petroleum products. The largest amount of crude oil in the reserve was 726.5 million barrels in July 2011, which is roughly twice the current level. The United States is the largest consumer of oil in the world, with an average consumption of about 20.6 million barrels of petroleum per day in 2025.
The current low levels of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have raised concerns about the country’s ability to respond to future supply disruptions. The reserve’s levels have been declining since 2023, when then-President Joe Biden ordered the release of 180 million barrels of crude oil to mitigate a shortfall in oil production caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
Original reporting: KOAT Albuquerque — read the source article.
