Strategic Petroleum Reserve SPR

After the 1973 Arab oil embargo caused shortages and long gasoline lines, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of December 22, 1975, created the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cushion the economy against supply cutoffs. Oil is stored in huge underground salt caverns at four sites in Texas and Louisiana, where the geology keeps it secure and cheap to hold. The reserve is managed by the Energy Department's Office of Petroleum Reserves.

The reserve can hold roughly 700 million barrels, and its inventory peaked at about 727 million barrels in 2009 and 2010. Only the President can order an emergency drawdown, which has happened after events such as the 1991 Gulf War and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the reserve is also part of the United States' obligations as a member of the International Energy Agency. Congress has repeatedly ordered sales of reserve oil to raise revenue for unrelated spending.

After Russia invaded Ukraine, President Biden announced on March 31, 2022, the largest release in the reserve's history, 180 million barrels, which pushed inventory to its lowest level in about forty years. The government later bought oil back at lower prices, and the 2025 budget reconciliation law canceled some previously mandated sales and funded repairs to aging facilities. Critics said the 2022 release drained a security asset for political reasons, while supporters said it eased gasoline prices and the oil was repurchased at a profit.