The U.S. Has Already Drawn Down Nearly a Third of Its Strategic Oil Reserves

At the end of February, the United States held approximately 415.4 million barrels of crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The latest EIA data show that figure has now fallen to just 286.6 million barrels.

That is a decline of nearly 129 million barrels, or roughly 31% in just six months.

U.S. strategic oil reserves are now at their lowest level since November 1982.

And in my view, that matters more than the releases themselves.

The SPR is designed as an emergency buffer for periods when global oil supply is seriously disrupted. The longer the current geopolitical tensions persist, the smaller that safety cushion becomes.

At the current level of 286.6 million barrels, the SPR is only about 40% full relative to its roughly 714 million-barrel capacity.

Strategic reserves can replace lost oil supply for a while. But strategic reserves are not unlimited.

And the lower they fall, the less room remains for the next real emergency.