As a consequence of the First Oil Shock, the U.S. Government initiated the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) program in 1976. In an age of growing oil dependency and instability of international markets, it was perceived that a reserve was of strategic importance for national security. It would enable the United States time to intervene if a major crisis compromising oil supplies develops. About 50 huge underground reservoirs, of 6 to 30 million barrels in capacity each, located in Texas and Louisiana store the strategic reserve. The maximum drawdown level is about 4.4 million barrels per day, but it would take about 13 days for this oil to reach the markets once a release has been authorized.
The SPR began to fill up in 1977 and by 1994, it had reached 592 million barrels, out of a potential total capacity of 700 million barrels. 1981 was the year when the largest amount was added, 120 million barrels, an outcome of the uncertainties of the Iranian Revolution and of the Iran/Iraq War. Since then, the SPR was called upon on three times; in 1991 (Gulf War), 1996 and in 2000 when President Clinton authorized about 5% of the SPR (30 million barrels) to be released in an effort to push the price of oil down. In November 2001, facing geopolitical instability, President Bush ordered a new wave of filling up the SPR with the addition of 108 million barrels, which would fill it to capacity. In 2005, a new legislation, the Energy Policy Act, was enacted, boosting the authorized capacity of the SPR to 1 billion barrels. However, this process came up to a standstill in late 2005, first with the devastation of oil and gas facilities along the Gulf of Mexico due to hurricane activity and then with surging oil prices and tighter supplies linked with the peaking of global oil production. In April 2006, it was announced that the filling of the SPR would be stopped with the SPR standing a just under 695 million barrels. This is an indication that oil supply have become so tight that purchases for the SPR would create price disruptions. Overall, the SPR has enough oil to supply the United States for about 50-60 days at its current rate of consumption. However, allocation priorities, if such circumstance arise, would obviously be towards the military.
50 -60 Days !!!