As U.S. Oil Reserves Hit 44-Year-Low, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher and Congressman August Pfluger Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Study Strategic Petroleum Reserve Modernization,[...]

Bill introduction comes as SPR has undergone two major emergency drawdowns in four years-first during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and now during the war in Iran-and sits at its lowest level since the 1980s

Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) and Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) introduced the 21st Century Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act (21st Century SPR Act) to direct the U.S. Department of Energy to issue a public report on opportunities to modernize the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

"Energy security is essential to national security, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is one of the most important tools we have to ensure it," said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher. "Having a reserve is critical to ensuring our energy independence and to helping protect American families when conflicts overseas disrupt global oil supply, as we have seen following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and now the war in Iran. We have relied on the SPR, and it has delivered for American families. But the reserve is stretched thinner than it has been in 40 years, and we cannot take that capability for granted. The 21st Century SPR Act is a common-sense first step toward making sure the SPR is capable of meeting our needs in the future in every way, and I'm glad to work with Congressman Pfluger on this important effort."

Congress created the SPR after the 1973 Arab oil embargo to protect American consumers and the economy from sudden supply shocks. The reserve stores crude oil in underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana, giving the federal government a tool to stabilize prices when global oil supplies are disrupted. It has, however, faced real strain in recent years.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a 180-million-barrel emergency release in 2022, and the ongoing war in Iran-including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply-has driven a second major drawdown. The reserve now sits at its lowest level since the early 1980s, at under half of its total capacity. A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that Congress and the Department of Energy still lack a unified long-term plan for the SPR, including a target size for the reserve and a clear strategy for maintaining its aging infrastructure.

Meanwhile, other countries have moved to build up their own reserves. China, which is not a member of the International Energy Agency and does not publicly disclose its inventory, holds an estimated 1.4 billion barrels of oil in strategic reserves-more than four times the current U.S. stockpile, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

If enacted, the 21st Century SPR Act would require the Secretary of Energy, within 90 days of enactment, to request that the National Petroleum Council-an advisory committee to the Secretary-deliver a public report within one year analyzing opportunities to improve and modernize the SPR's physical infrastructure and operations to respond to supply shocks like the 2026 closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The report would examine:

• Expanding the SPR's geographic distribution and storage capacity;
• Adding storage for refined petroleum products, such as gasoline and diesel, as well as crude oil;
• Eliminating congressionally mandated sales that draw down the reserve outside of emergencies;
• Building storage facilities resilient enough to withstand the volume and frequency of drawdowns the SPR has seen over the last 10 years; and
• Encouraging purchases to refill the SPR during periods of low petroleum prices;
• Increasing the SPR's fill rate and the bidirectional flow capacity of its pipeline infrastructure.

The bill also directs the National Petroleum Council to make recommendations to Congress and federal agencies on modernizing the SPR going forward.

To view the full text of the bill, click here.