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The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped to its lowest level since 1982 as the nation manages a global energy shortage.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has reached its lowest level in over 40 years, falling to 286.6 million barrels as of the week ending August 28. This drop represents a significant drawdown of the emergency stockpile, which was established to protect the U.S. economy from sudden supply crunches. The reserve, stored in underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana, provides a source of oil to be sold on the open market to help stabilize prices. The current depletion is largely a result of the Iran war, which triggered the largest oil supply supply disruption in recent history. Since the war began in late February, the U.S. has released approximately 125.7 million to 128 million barrels of oil from the reserve. This release was part of a larger international effort involving 32 member nations of the International Energy Agency to release a combined 400 million barrels of oil. Prior to the Iran war, the reserve held 415.4 million barrels of crude oil. The administration announced the release of 172 million barrels over 120 days as part of the international commitment. The reserve can reach a capacity of 714 million barrels.

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