Strategic Oil Reserve Hits Historic Low

Oil barrels with U.S. flag and financial charts — Photo: FOTOGRIN / Shutterstock

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was pushed to its lowest level in decades after the Biden administration ordered the biggest drawdown in its history.

Quick Take

Biden approved a 180 million barrel release in 2022, the largest ever from the reserve.
The stockpile fell to its lowest level in about 40 years, then kept sliding in later years.
Critics said the White House used the reserve to ease gas prices and help election chances.
Federal officials later said the 2022 emergency sales did not damage the reserve’s salt caverns or pipelines.

What the White House Did

President Joe Biden ordered a major release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022 as oil and gasoline prices surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The release totaled 180 million barrels over six months, which made it the largest sale in the reserve’s history. By October 2022, the stockpile had fallen below 400 million barrels, a level not seen in decades.

That drop gave critics a simple argument. They said the administration treated an emergency reserve like a political tool. Senate Republicans said the move was tied to record gasoline prices and was meant to help Democrats before the 2022 midterm elections. House Republicans later said the reserve fell from 638 million barrels when Biden took office to 367 million, a drop of nearly 42 percent.

Why Critics Say It Went Too Far

The sharpest criticism is not just that Biden used the reserve. It is that he used so much of it so fast. Critics say the drawdown weakened a buffer meant for true supply shocks, such as wars, storms, or refinery outages. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was built to protect national security and help the economy during major energy disruptions, not to serve as a routine price tool.

Some lawmakers also argued that the administration left the country exposed after prices eased. By late 2023, the reserve was still far below pre-2022 levels, and one energy analyst wrote that only a small share of the oil taken out had been replaced. That complaint now sits at the center of the debate: if the reserve is drained for short-term relief, who pays when the next crisis hits?

The Damage Question Remains Split

One accusation was more specific. Republican lawmakers and some critics claimed the large withdrawals damaged the reserve’s salt caverns and pipelines. The Biden administration rejected that claim. In a letter cited by Reuters, the Department of Energy said the 2022 emergency sales did not damage the system’s caverns or pipelines. That answer closes one line of attack, but it does not end the broader fight over whether the releases were wise.

⛽ US gas price climbs back above $4 a gallon as emergency oil reserve hits 42-year low

🔹The average U.S. price of gasoline has officially risen back above $4.00 a gallon, AAA data shows, as the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) that has been cushioning the shock of the… https://t.co/RdW2TcEQnZ

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) July 20, 2026

The bigger policy problem is familiar in Washington. Presidents of both parties have tapped the reserve for real crises and for political or budget reasons. A National Taxpayers Union analysis said Congress also used reserve sales to raise money for spending bills, which leaves taxpayers to help refill the stockpile later. That history makes the Biden episode part of a much older pattern: Washington reaches for emergency oil when pressure rises, then argues later about the cost.

What the Reserve Means Now

The reserve still matters because it is one of the country’s main emergency energy tools. But the size of the stockpile has become a political warning light. Reuters reported in 2026 that the reserve had fallen to about 340.3 million barrels, the lowest level since 1983. Later reporting put it even lower, at 316.5 million barrels. Those figures show why critics say once the reserve is cut this deep, the margin for error gets thin.