The Strategic Petroleum Reserve hit the lowest level in 44 years last week, as the Trump administration continues to release crude oil to prevent prices of products such as gasoline from surging even further, as global oil supplies remain strained.
Data released on Monday by the Department of Energy revealed that the government released 3.7 million barrels of oil last week, causing inventories to fall to the lowest they’ve been since 1982.
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As of Aug. 21, the SPR held 289.7 million barrels of oil. The last time the inventories were this low was in early December 1982, when the SPR was first being filled.
This latest drawdown is part of the Trump administration’s plan to release 172 million barrels from its inventories to support global oil markets experiencing monthslong supply disruptions caused by the war in Iran. It is also key to the administration’s strategy for keeping gasoline prices down ahead of the midterm elections, as the extended disruption of global oil trade has significantly increased the price of oil and refined products such as gasoline, which currently sits above $4 a gallon in the United States.
If all 172 million barrels are released, it could send the SPR to the lowest level since it was created and before the government started tracking weekly stocks, leaving the SPR with around 243 million barrels.
The administration has defended the release, saying it plans to replace all of the barrels removed and add more than was taken. Earlier this year, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the government plans to replace the removed crude with around 200 million barrels in the next year. This could leave the SPR with around 443 million barrels in its inventories.
Still, executives in the oil and gas industry have warned that this release will leave the SPR with dangerously low levels of crude, as the storage facilities require around 20% of full capacity to remain operational.
The SPR is one of the largest emergency crude inventories in the world, with a total capacity of around 714 million barrels across four facilities.
It was first created in 1975 in the fallout of the Arab oil embargo, with the intention of protecting the markets and U.S. consumers from severe supply shocks and price spikes. Inventories reached their highest levels, around 726.6 million barrels, in December 2009.
Since 1985, the U.S. government has released more than 500 million barrels of oil from the SPR, nearly 70% of which was released between 2014 and 2025, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The Biden administration was heavily criticized for approving the release of 180 million barrels in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sending inventories to a low of 346.7 million barrels.
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Republicans have broadly criticized the administration for this drawdown, claiming it threatened the country’s ability to respond to energy crises as the SPR was left at such a low level by the time then-President Joe Biden left office.
However, most of the drawdowns seen in the last two decades can actually be attributed to mandated sales by Congress.
