The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped to approximately 340.3 million barrels as of June 12, marking its lowest inventory since the summer of 1983. The last time America’s emergency oil cupboard was this bare, Reagan was in the White House and Return of the Jedi was still in theaters.
The decline represents a roughly 18% drop from levels seen just before tensions with Iran escalated in late February. Weekly drawdowns have been running at nearly 9 million barrels, part of a massive 172-million-barrel release authorized in March to keep domestic energy markets from spiraling.
How the reserve got here
When the Strait of Hormuz temporarily closed amid heightened US-Iran tensions, the Trump administration greenlit accelerated releases to offset the disruption and keep prices in check.
At 340.3 million barrels, the reserve now sits below the previous modern low of 346.7 to 346.8 million barrels, which was reached in July 2023 during the Biden administration’s own round of strategic releases.
