WASHINGTON — The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell to 298.7 million barrels last week, the first time the emergency stockpile has dipped below 300 million barrels since January 1983, according to Energy Department data published Monday.
The decline included a single-week drop of 6.1 million barrels — the largest such draw in two months.
Energy Department officials said inventories are expected to keep falling, deepening concerns among members of Congress and energy security analysts about the country's ability to absorb a severe supply disruption.
The reserve serves as the nation's emergency crude oil stockpile, designed to buffer against supply shocks from global market volatility or domestic energy crises. Decisions to release oil from it rest with the president.
The current administration, like its predecessors, has tapped the reserve for market stabilization and through congressionally authorized sales. That sustained drawdown — not any single release — has brought the stockpile to its current level.
Global supply pressures are adding to the urgency. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has tightened international oil markets, leaving less room for error if a major disruption hits.
How the Energy Department plans to replenish the reserve remains unresolved in Washington. Restoring the stockpile requires significant federal investment in both oil purchases and storage infrastructure — a debate that has yet to produce a concrete timeline.
