America's emergency oil reserve is shrinking at the fastest pace in history. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fell by nearly 10 million barrels according to the latest report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
It was the largest weekly drawdown on record, pushing total inventories below 375 million barrels. That number is less than half the levels the reserve held at its 2009 peak – far below the cushion Washington once relied on during global supply shocks.
Something went wrong.
Political Promises
The timing is politically uncomfortable for President Donald Trump. On his campaign trail, Trump repeatedly promised to refill the SPR after criticizing the Biden administration's massive 2022 and 2023 releases. Yet the war with Iran reversed the initial 22 million-barrel gain through 2025.
