Overview
- The Energy Information Administration reported the SPR stood at about 349.2 million barrels for the week ending June 5, and officials say withdrawals are running near 9 million barrels per week.
- The Department of Energy says 66 million barrels have been removed from the reserve since the Iran war began and the administration has authorized roughly 172 million barrels of releases in recent months.
- Energy industry leaders warn that continued drawdowns without higher production or restored Middle East supply routes will make gasoline and energy prices worse for U.S. consumers.
- Buyers of released SPR barrels have pledged replenishment and DOE officials say market purchases to replace withdrawn volumes have required paying premiums on buybacks.
- The SPR is stored in Gulf Coast salt caverns built after the 1970s oil shocks, and its current decline follows large withdrawals under the prior administration that left the reserve smaller than its 2009 peak, reducing the U.S. emergency buffer.