The overused Strategic Petroleum Reserve is at risk of operational failure, watchdog warns

Published June 26, 2026 9:30am ET



EXCLUSIVE — The Government Accountability Office has found that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the United States’s emergency stockpile of crude oil, is facing significant risks to its ability to operate and meet future energy crises, as inventories have hit their lowest level in 43 years.

The Trump administration is currently overseeing the second-largest drawdown of the SPR to combat surging oil and gasoline prices caused by supply disruptions from the Iran war. Stocks were the lowest they have been since 1983 this week, at just 331.2 million barrels.

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