The SPR is so low it might not work anymore


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Posted by russsmith on October 21, 2026 at 07:29:02

Down to 282 million barrels which sounds like lots but it's the lowest since 1982. Experts are all over the place on what the theoretical low is but one of them is 250 and it's because below that you have a hard time getting actual oil out you mainly get sludge or water or air.

But that's not the real issue the real issue is the caverns the oil is in are essentially being held up by the oil, when you take out too much oil, the risk of the caverns collapsing becomes a real issue

They have to pump water or brine IN when they take oil out to keep the caverns from collapsing the problem is the more brine and less oil, the oil is harder to extract. And the way they extract it compromises the integrity of the cavern walls. Dept of energy says not a problem it's still intact but then these are the same people who said the exact opposite when Biden was POTUS, literally the head of DOE , Chris Wright, when he took the job said they had to refill the SPR because Biden had taken it down dangerously low and threatened the integrity of the caverns. Trump has taken it down MUCH lower.




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