US strategic oil reserve falls to record low
In March, US President Donald Trump ordered Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed for 172 million barrels of oil.
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has been depleted to an unprecedented level.
Crude oil in the South Pacific Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has fallen below 300 million barrels for the first time since January 1983. According to CNBC, last week there was a decrease of 6.1 million barrels, bringing the total stockpile to 298.7 million barrels.
In March, US President Donald Trump ordered the release of 172 million barrels of oil after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
A report in May by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that the technical condition of the reserve is at risk due to aging infrastructure. According to the auditors, more than a quarter of the gas reserves are “unavailable for recovery” as of December 2025.
The maximum capacity of the South Pacific oil reserve is 714 million barrels. The minimum amount of oil needed for safe operation is about 70 million barrels.
Active use of the reserves began in 2022, when former President Joe Biden released 180 million barrels of oil in an effort to address volatility in the energy market. This was the largest drawdown in the history of the storage facility.