Strategic Petroleum Reserve
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is a crude oil reserve maintained by the United States Department of Energy that was created for use only in the event of an emergency supply shortage. It was designed to protect the United States from future crude oil supply disruptions caused by a number of factors, including embargoes or natural disasters (such as hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and floods).
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the world’s largest supply of emergency crude oil, with a capacity of 727 million barrels. In the event of an energy emergency, the oil would be distributed by competitive sale. The reserve has been used only twice under these circumstances for which it was intended, during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
AFPM believes that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve should only be used for non-emergency purposes. Use of the reserve for other reasons could threaten needed supply in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
Useful Links