Depletion of Strategic Petroleum Reserves to lowest level since 1982 risks damage to storage caverns

The oil reserves in the United States have dipped so low that the caverns that house the Strategic Petroleum Reserve are at risk of damage. The oil inventory has reached a 40-year low, down to just 300 million barrels. It's the first time the reserves have been so low since 1982, which is when reserves were being filled. The total capacity is 714 million barrels. 

The reserves sit in 60 salt caverns across both Texas and Louisiana. The four sites, two in each state, are thousands of feet beneath the earth. Draining the oil can compromise the integrity of the caverns themselves, reports Fortune.

The US has plans to release 172 million barrels of oil, which will further deplete the supply. The Trump administration's conflict in Iran has caused global oil supply problems and raised gas prices in the United States. The coming drawdown is intended to mitigate supply disruptions and increased consumer costs.

"I don't know anyone who believes we can go below 300," said former Biden senior energy advisor Amos Hochstein. "I know plenty of people who think we can't get near 300 because physically you will damage the caverns where the oil is stored."

The Department of Energy has a different view. "The caverns are always full," said DOE spokesperson Ben Deitderich. "President Trump and [Energy Secretary Chris Wright] are responsibly managing the SPR as the critical national security asset it was designed to be, helping stabilize oil markets and protect Americans from supply disruptions."

Under the Biden administration, the oil reserves were depleted to manage costs of fuel in the US. The administration was criticized for that move and when he came into office, Trump vowed to fill them back up.

Wright has noted concerns about the condition of the reserve, saying during 2025 testimony, "The immediate thing we need to do is finish the repairs on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It was drawn down so quickly, and that causes some damage to the infrastructure itself. Those repairs are ongoing, and it costs a nontrivial amount of money to repair the SPR."

Of the storage sites, the DOE says, "Emergency crude oil is stored at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in underground salt caverns at four major oil storage facilities in the Gulf Coast region of the United States, two sites in Texas (Bryan Mound and Big Hill), and two sites in Louisiana (West Hackberry and Bayou Choctaw). Created deep within the massive salt deposits that underlie most of the Texas and Louisiana coastline, the caverns offer the best security and are the most affordable means of storage, costing up to 10 times less than above ground tanks and 20 times less than hard rock mines."