DOE Data: Strategic Petroleum Reserve Falls to 282.7 Million Barrels, Lowest Since October 1982
WASHINGTON — Crude oil stocks in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fell to 282.7 million barrels, the lowest level since October 1982, according to U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) data released on October 19, Reuters reported. The reserve stood at 283 million barrels in the week ending October 9, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data reported by GSM on October 16, and the latest reading marks a further decline to a new low.
The drawdowns are part of an international coordinated release agreed in March. After the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran disrupted energy markets, the United States and more than 30 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release a combined 400 million barrels of emergency stocks, with the United States committing 172 million barrels from the SPR. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced in March that the U.S. share would be released over 120 days. GSM reported on October 16 that the Department of Energy had issued another solicitation to exchange up to 17 million additional barrels under the same arrangement.
Established in 1975 after the oil embargo crisis, the SPR is the world's largest emergency crude oil stockpile. Its oil is stored in underground salt caverns at four sites along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana, with a total design capacity of about 714 million barrels.
The continuing decline has also drawn congressional scrutiny. Senator Martin Heinrich, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, wrote to Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on October 9 asking the department for information on the operational safety and structural integrity of the reserve. His letter cited a June 2026 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report finding that repeated partial drawdowns followed by refills can leach a single part of a cavern repeatedly, leading to undesirable shapes. Reuters has previously reported that the reserve could fall to about 243 million barrels once the March release is completed.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国战略石油储备站点的原油输送管道（资料图）。图片来源：美国能源部（DOE），公共领域（维基共享资源）。Photo: Crude oil pipelines at a U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve site (file photo). Credit: U.S. Department of Energy, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
