The nation’s emergency reserve for oil and fuel supplies is slipping below Biden-era lows to its most exhausted level since the Reagan era—when the nearly 50-year-old U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve was still being filled up.The SPR will hit its lowest volumes since 1983 any day now—if not already—and continue sinking lower as the Trump administration leans on its reserves to keep oil exports flowing to the rest of the world—and to stop domestic prices from further skyrocketing.As global commercial and strategic oil reserves continue to be depleted—and the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East remains effectively closed—the fear is it’s just a matter of time before resilient energy markets finally begin to “panic” and fuel prices soar more uncontrollably, whether that’s in July or August, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“It’s a pretty monumental number to hear multi-decade lows reached,” De Haan told Fortune. “The longer this goes on, the fewer tools the administration has in dealing with it, and the more risk there is to a slingshot for costs.”
The administration has drained 66 million barrels—as of June 5—and counting from the SPR since the war in Iran began, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Trump has authorized the overall release of 172 million barrels over several months. The companies buying the barrels are pledging to replenish them.
