[poinq]

The pipelines are full. The tanks are full. The ground is full. Buying a bunch of oil and sticking it in Louisiana salt mines is not helpful. First its not that much. It won’t last us very long. Second, we can always fill it if we think we may need it in the future. Third, one bomb and its gone. Same with Cushing. Fourth, you still have to refine it. We have lots of pipelines crisscrossing the country that bring oil from fields to refineries quickly and cleanly. The Strategic reserves is like us pumping oil out of the ground and then pumping it back in so we could pump it out whenever we wish.

[DIRTYSECRET]

Dump it on the market all at once and THEN see what happens!

[Ozark Tom]

Apparently you don't appreciate how difficult it would be to destroy an extremely deep underground bunker. If someone is able to employ multi-megaton ground detonation weapons to attempt taking out a salt dome along the GOM coastal area, you likely won't have the opportunity to lament a lack of crude during a strategic emergency.

[Grampa Dave]

Excellent and simple economic summary:

The pipelines are full. The tanks are full. The ground is full. Buying a bunch of oil and sticking it in Louisiana salt mines is not helpful. First its not that much. It won’t last us very long. Second, we can always fill it if we think we may need it in the future. Third, one bomb and its gone. Same with Cushing. Fourth, you still have to refine it. We have lots of pipelines crisscrossing the country that bring oil from fields to refineries quickly and cleanly. The Strategic reserves is like us pumping oil out of the ground and then pumping it back in so we could pump it out whenever we wish.