Posted on 06/20/2025 8:17:35 PM PDT by delta7
About two years ago, Sonar21 released an article detailing how the Biden Administration tapped the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to reduce oil prices and bolster the faltering economy, a move aimed at gaining political advantage during the 2022 midterm elections. Biden released approximately 260 million barrels rapidly, potentially damaging the aging salt caverns through deformation and shrinkage. In 2000, the SPR office estimated that the facilities had a remaining life span of twenty-five years, assuming routine maintenance.
Assuming refiling the SPR at three million barrels a month, it would take a staggering seven years to replace the 260 million barrels. Refilling at one million barrels per day to cut the refill timeline to under a year would pose a significant logistical challenge and cause oil prices to rise sharply. Given the current Middle East geopolitical risks and probable oil supply disruptions, time has run out. For example, closing the Strait of Hormuz could halt 20% of the global oil supply, spiking prices between $150 and $300 per barrel, and causing shortages. Import-dependent economies in Europe and Asia would be crushed. However, it’s worth noting that China’s crude oil stockpiles have reached record levels, with estimates of total inventories hitting around 1.18 billion barrels.
Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill intends to bolster energy security by adding to the SPR. It allocates $1.3 billion to purchase petroleum, which, at current market prices of $75 per barrel, would be a meager 17.6 million barrels. This amount is less than one day’s average crude oil consumption.
SEC. 41006. STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE. 16 (a) APPROPRIATIONS.—In addition to amounts otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Department of Energy for fiscal year 2025, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to remain available 20 until September 30, 2029— (1) $218,000,000 for maintenance of, including repairs to, storage facilities and related facilities (as 23 such terms are defined in section 152 of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6232)) of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve; and HR 1 EH1S 1 (2) $1,321,000,000 to acquire, by purchase, petroleum products for storage in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The BBB includes continued subsidies for high-cost alternative energy sources, notably nuclear, biofuels, and carbon capture, preserving their tax credits through 2033. However, phases out subsidies for wind, solar, batteries, EVs, and clean hydrogen. This approach is misguided since alternative energy is intermittent and non-scalable, except for nuclear. Overall, this approach does not adequately address America’s growing energy needs.
If the Middle East conflict escalates, the oil price spike will share some traits with the 1970s Arab oil embargo, with inflation spiking and GDP contraction. During a protracted conflict, the depleted SPR (56.31% capacity) could struggle to meet U.S. oil needs. The United States has reduced its dependence on the Middle East to less than one million barrels per day of crude oil, primarily through the Strait of Hormuz. Despite our decreasing reliance on imports, any blockage of the Strait of Hormuz or tanker shipments curtailed threats to maritime security would cause global and domestic oil prices to surge dramatically…..
I seem to recall Biden doing something with the SPR, like dumping it all on the market at election time.
Maybe Vlad can sell us oil , give us the Trump discount?
I thought the SPR was only supposed to be for the Navy.
Senile Joe really fixed us up. Experts state in a full scale war, the U.S. blows our wad in seven days, with our Strategic Oil supply drained, the weapons give away to Ukraine, it is clear what Joe did to us.
Yup, just before the midterms in 2022.
Do you mean the Strategic Midterms Reserve?
Why is the US selling stockpiled oil to China? We have answers
https://www.politifact.com/article/2022/jul/11/why-us-selling-stockpiled-oil-china-we-have-answer/
Didn’t we open the pipeline?
Our current reserve.
https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=mcsstus1&f=m
We had in the past maintained almost 700 million barrels, Joe drained us down to 390 million….that said, refilling it may not be entirely possible due to deterioration of the caves.
Didn’t we open the pipeline?
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Not that I know of. But we did blow the Nordstream pipeline from Russia to the EU…..maybe we can start importing oil from Russia at a steep discount.
Yes. To lower gas prices before an election.
It is for all purposes, ranging from ship and aircraft fuel, to civilian transportation and shipping needs. Pretty much anything.
Those sons-of-bitches in the Democrat Party emptied it in a vain attempt to stave off the consequences of their perfidy.
Trump is planning to refill it when we achieve energy dominance.
The annual bible of oil release is just a few days away.
Scrolling through the spreadsheet educates. Some items awaiting update:
1) US oil consumption has been flat for a long time at 19 million barrels/day. Some of this is Covid residual effect (work from home) and some is improved gas mileage on vehicles, offset by population gain. 2008 19 mbpd. 2023 19 mbpd. EVs have nearly no effect, since they are owned by people mostly urban who never drove much (and thus did not consume oil even before the EVs).
2) The #4 oil consumer in the world is Saudi Arabia. Consumer, not producer. They surpass Japan, with nowhere near the same population. Why? They have no coal and little natural gas. Electricity production.
3) US, China, India, KSA, Japan. Russia’s oil consumption has steadily risen over the decades, now at 3.6 million bpd. KSA is 4 mbpd.
4) Europe oil production is and always has been startling. Nearly all the countries of Europe have no oil. Norway and the North Sea are at 2 million bpd (the North Sea is dying, that number is 33% under peak of 3.3 mbpd). Because the North Sea is dying, so is the UK’s oil output peaked at about 3 mbpd in 1998 and now cratered down to 700K bpd. Romania is squeezing out remnants of their WW II oil fields, down to 63K bpd. Europe’s total, looking at those numbers above, 3.2 mbpd (essentially all Norway and UK).
(Europe oil consumption in total: 13.9 million bpd)
” . . maybe we can start importing oil from Russia at a steep discount.”
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Not too sure about that. Biggest Russian refinery caught fire last week.
Honestly why refill it for the next Democrat to give it away?
It wasn’t “Joe,” nothing that happened, happened because of “Joe.” “Joe” was fake.
It was all Soetoro, Jarrett, Brennan, Rice and others, directed by their Overlords.
It was a Coup d’etat.
It was a Junta. The #JihadJunta, and we will pay the price for years, maybe forever.
“maybe we can start importing oil from Russia”
The USA does not need any Russian oil - we are among the world’s largest oil exporters, with the world’s largest proven oil reserves (more than Russia, or Saudi Arabia). In fact, we could profit from taking more of Russia’s market share of oil exports.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was important when we relied on imports, but those days are long since gone.
Another HUGE Biden and Democrat Folly!
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