U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Hits Lowest Level Since 1983

The U.S. government’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is now at its lowest since 1983, with levels that were already on the decline before the Iran conflict began. Reports indicate that the amount of oil in the SPR dropped by 6.1 million barrels last week, putting current inventories at 298.7 million barrels, as mentioned by the Energy Department on Monday.

This marks the lowest figure recorded in the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly SPR data since January 1983. The decrease in inventories has been noticeable this year—an action prompted by President Trump, who authorized the release of up to 172 million barrels back in March due to the ongoing impacts of the Iran war on energy supplies. The tension, particularly Iranian attacks that have affected tanker movements through the Strait of Hormuz, has been a key factor.

In mid-March 2026, the Trump administration reported about 415.4 million barrels in inventory. However, as of early August, that number had plummeted by approximately 116 million barrels. The recent releases follow a trend that began a few years ago when the Biden administration permitted the release of 180 million barrels as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of 2022.

To put this into perspective, the SPR started the year 2022 with around 600 million barrels but dropped to 375 million barrels by the end of that year. Over the past summer, SPR levels reached about 347 million barrels, slowly recovering to 400 million by May 2025, peaking at over 415 million in February before the most recent reductions began in March.

Created in 1975 under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act due to the OPEC oil embargo of 1973-74, the SPR initially aimed to hold 1 billion barrels of oil. However, it has never reached that capacity. Currently, the SPR can hold up to approximately 714 million barrels, a figure authorized by Congress, with a historical high of 726.6 million barrels in December 2009.

A recent report released in May by the General Accounting Office (GAO) urged both Congress and the Department of Energy to develop a cohesive, long-term plan. This plan should tackle the maintenance needs of the SPR along with a future-proof inventory management strategy.