What is a strategic petroleum reserve, and when is it released?
Under the Gulf Coast, caverns dissolved out of salt hold hundreds of millions of barrels of oil that nobody is allowed to burn, except in an emergency.
Guess first
?
Which one is it?
A strategic petroleum reserve is a government's emergency of oil, held so that a supply disruption does not leave the country without fuel. The biggest is the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, maintained by the Department of Energy and described as the largest publicly known emergency supply in the world, with underground tanks in Louisiana and Texas that have capacity for 714 million barrels.
It exists because of an . The United States started the reserve in 1975, after oil supplies were interrupted during the 1973-1974 oil embargo, as part of an international energy agreement. Other countries in the International Energy Agency (IEA) have a similar duty: members must hold oil stocks equal to at least 90 days of the previous year's , and commit to respond together to significant disruptions.
The oil is kept in artificial in beneath four sites on the Gulf of Mexico, made by drilling down and dissolving the salt with water. The Department of Energy says storing oil underground is about ten times more cost effective, with no leaks. Using it is not instant: the maximum removal rate is 2.7 million barrels per day, and oil could begin entering the market 13 days after a presidential order.
Releases have followed disasters and shocks. In 2005, 11 million barrels were sold after Hurricane Katrina shut down 95 percent of crude production in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2011, 30 million barrels were sold to offset disruptions in Libya and elsewhere, matched by other IEA countries to make 60 million barrels. In March 2022, the US announced a release of 1 million barrels a day for 180 days, the largest ever. And in March 2026, as oil prices rose with the US strikes on Iran, the US announced a release of 172 million barrels over about 120 days, part of a 400-million-barrel release coordinated by IEA countries.
Quiz me
0/3
Recap
Reserves are a cushion with limits: they can be drawn down at a maximum rate, and they must be refilled.
💡 A trick to remember it · A cellar of oil dug out of salt: it can only be poured at a set speed, and someday it must be refilled.
Surprising fact · The US reserve is stored in salt caverns on the Gulf coast, with capacity for 714 million barrels.
Sources (2)
No source, no claim. Every fact in this lesson (16 claims) cites at least one of these.