How Low Can the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Actually Go?
The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve held just 283 million barrels of oil at the end of September, according to Reuters, the lowest level since October 1982, back when the reserve was still being filled for the first time. It's a scary-looking number, and most of the coverage has treated it that way
Source: OilPrice.com
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DW NOTE
The article is dated from 2022 when WTI was genuinely above $90 and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was being drawn to suppress pump prices ahead of the midterms. The Reserve fell from 638 million barrels in January 2022 to 372 million by November — the lowest level since 1984. The answer to the headline question: politically, it can go wherever a president needs it to go in an election year. Operationally, the Reserve has a usable floor around 315 million barrels before logistics break down. The U.S. spent decades filling it as insurance, then drained 40% in nine months to cap gasoline at $3.79 instead of $4.29.