How will the US refill its dwindling oil reserves?
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Why is the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve considered critical for energy security?
N P R
During President Trump's inaugural address last year, he promised to refill America's strategic petroleum reserve aka America's backup oil supply.
Fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top.
Since that day, those reserves have fallen another thirty percent.
A certain war in Iran has resulted in a closed Strait of Hormuz, which has prevented much of the world's oil from actually getting out. And in that time, the reserve has served as a price cushion, shielding Americans from the reality of low global oil supply. But now this backup oil is running out. But look, Trump
knows this. He still wants to refill that reserve. His new answer, then his Whalen oil. It's the biggest
Oil deal and probably it's the biggest deal in the history of our country. Sixty five billion barrels are ours and
whether it's with Venezuelan oil or something else, the reserve needs to be refilled because it is widely considered critical for energy security. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Cooper Katz McKim.
And
I'm Ricky Malvey.
Today on the show, can Venezuelan oil save the strategic petroleum reserve? And what does all of this mean for our wallets? That's after the break.
Austin Tice is an American journalist who disappeared over a decade ago while reporting in Syria.
How did the 1970s oil embargo lead to the creation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
And for years, we've been searching for him.
This looks like a secret passage. I'm just pushing
a door so you can get in. Listen to Where is Austin Tice from NPR's Embedded and BBC Radio 4 on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Back in the early 70s, Arab countries launched a massive oil embargo on the United States, following U.S. support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War. This was at a time when the U.S.
relied on imported oil. And the White House wants us to use 25 to 30 percent less gasoline in our 101 million cars. Well, after that, the American government realized
Hey, maybe we should have a backup oil supply. And the US Strategic Petroleum
Reserve was born. So this isn't totally unique. Some thirty countries have a backup reserve: Japan, Germany, Australia. But Siddharth Mishra says the US version is special. The oil is stored in these man-made underground caves.
These caverns are engineering Marvel, the way they were created back then.
Siddharth is a professor of petroleum engineering at Texas AM. He says the US government decided the most effective way to store millions of barrels of oil was not through metallic storage tanks, but salt caverns.
So engineers pumped massive amounts of water to dissolve the salt banks underneath the earth and create caves.
These caves are not like uh where we can walk. These are not traditional caves.
What engineering marvels enable the United States to store oil in underground salt caverns?
These are human-design caves. The size of the cylinder would be somewhere like size of Empire State or a little larger.
Yeah, making up all a hundred plus stories of that building. And there are sixty of these things located between Texas and Louisiana that make up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, aka SPR.
SPR has been a backbone of American economic success, energy security for many, many years, as in the first time SPR came into its use was in 1991 Operation Desert Storm, then during Hurricane Katrina. Again SPR showed up to give us a safety net during the supply shock. A Arab Spring 2011, Ukraine War 2022, and currently uh what is happening in the state of Hormuz is also requiring American dependence on SPR.
If you drive in the US, the SPR is saving you money. Back in 2022, the global drawdown saved you roughly 17 to 42 cents per gallon.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve considered critical for energy security?
0:01–1:33
2
How did the 1970s oil embargo lead to the creation of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
1:33–3:39
3
What engineering marvels enable the United States to store oil in underground salt caverns?
3:39–6:10
4
How has the SPR’s volume and condition deteriorated over the past six years?
6:10–7:55
5
What legislative and fiscal obstacles make refilling the SPR difficult today?
7:55–9:30
6
Can a Venezuelan oil swap provide a viable solution for refilling the reserve?
9:30–10:21
7
What do energy‑security experts say about the risks and costs of the Venezuela deal?
10:21–10:49
8
What are the likely outcomes for American gasoline prices if the SPR cannot be replenished?
10:49–10:53