Editing Strategic Petroleum Reserve (United States) (section)

== History ==
===Background===
The SPR was created following the [[1973 energy crisis]]. On November 18, 1974, the United States became a signatory to the Agreement on an International Energy Program (IEP) and a founding member of the [[International Energy Agency]] that the IEP established.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lansford |first=Tom |title=Political Handbook of the World 2020-2021 |publisher=CQ Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-1-5443-8473-3 |pages=1833 |language=en}}</ref> One of the key commitments made by the treaty's signatories is to maintain oil stocks of no less than 90 days of net imports.<ref>{{Cite web |last=[[International Energy Agency]] |date=July 2020 |title=Oil Security Toolkit |url=https://www.iea.org/reports/oil-security-toolkit |access-date=16 May 2022 |publisher=IEA}}</ref>

Access to the reserve is determined by the conditions written into the 1975 [[Energy Policy and Conservation Act]] (EPCA), primarily to counter a severe supply interruption. The maximum removal rate, by physical constraints, is {{convert|4.4|Moilbbl/d|m3/d}}. Oil could begin entering the marketplace 13 days after a presidential order.<ref>{{cite web |title=Strategic Petroleum Reserve |url=https://www.energy.gov/fecm/strategic-petroleum-reserve-3#Q12 |website=Energy.gov |language=en}}</ref> The Department of Energy says it has about 59 days of import protection in the SPR.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Senate Report |publisher=Government Printing Office |isbn=978-0-16-081323-8 |pages=135 |language=en}}</ref> This, combined with private sector inventory protection, is estimated to equal 115 days of imports.{{Citation needed|date=May 2022}}

The EPCA of December 22, 1975, made it policy for the United States to establish a reserve up to 1 billion barrels (159 million m³) of petroleum. A number of existing storage sites were acquired in 1977. Construction of the first surface facilities began in June 1977. On July 21, 1977, the first oil—approximately {{convert|412000|oilbbl|m3}} of Saudi Arabian light crude—was delivered to the SPR. Fill was suspended in Fiscal Year 1995 to devote budget resources to refurbishing the SPR equipment and extending the life of the complex.

===Domestic actions===
On November 13, 2001, shortly after the [[September 11 terrorist attacks]], President [[George W. Bush]] announced that the SPR would be filled, saying, "The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is an important element of our Nation's [[energy security]]. To maximize long-term protection against oil supply disruptions, I am directing the Secretary of Energy to fill the SPR up to its {{convert|700|Moilbbl|m3}} capacity."<ref>{{cite news |url = https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011113.html |title = President Orders Strategic Petroleum Reserve Filled |publisher = White House Office of the Press Secretary |date = November 13, 2001 |access-date = December 26, 2014 }}</ref>  The highest prior level was reached in 1994 with {{convert|592|Moilbbl|m3}}. At the time of President Bush's directive, the SPR contained about {{convert|545|Moilbbl|m3}}.  Since the directive in 2001, the capacity of the SPR has increased by {{convert|27|Moilbbl|m3}} due to natural enlargement of the salt caverns in which the reserves are stored.  The [[Energy Policy Act of 2005]] has since directed the [[United States Secretary of Energy|Secretary of Energy]] to fill the SPR to the full {{convert|1|Goilbbl|m3}} authorized capacity, a process which will require a physical expansion of the Reserve's facilities.

On August 17, 2005, the SPR reached its goal of {{convert|700|Moilbbl|m3}}.  Approximately 60% of the crude oil in the reserve is the less desirable sour (high [[sulfur]] content) variety. The oil delivered to the reserve is "royalty-in-kind" oil—royalties owed to the U.S. government by operators who acquire leases on the federally owned [[Outer Continental Shelf]] in the [[Gulf of Mexico]]. These royalties were previously collected as cash, but in 1998 the government began testing the effectiveness of collecting royalties "in kind"—or in other words, acquiring the crude oil itself. This mechanism was adopted when refilling the SPR began, and once filling is completed, revenues from the sale of future royalties will be paid into the federal treasury.

On April 25, 2006, President Bush announced a temporary halt to petroleum deposits to the SPR as part of a four-point program to alleviate high fuel prices.{{Citation needed|date=May 2008}}

On January 23, 2007, President Bush suggested in [[2007 State of the Union Address|his State of the Union]] speech that Congress should approve expansion of the current reserve capacity to twice its current level.<ref name="sotu2007">{{cite news |last = Bush |first = George W. |author-link = George W. Bush |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/23/AR2007012301075_pf.html |title = President Bush's 2007 State of the Union Address |newspaper = The Washington Post |date = January 23, 2007 |access-date = January 24, 2007 }}</ref>

On May 16, 2008, the [[U.S. Department of Energy]] (DOE) said it would halt all deliveries to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve sometime in July. This announcement came days after Congress voted to direct the Bush administration to do the same.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.eere.energy.gov/news/news_detail.cfm/news_id=11779 |title = DOE Stops Filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve |publisher = United States Department of Energy |date = May 21, 2008 |access-date = February 25, 2012 }}</ref>

On January 2, 2009, after a sharp decline in fuel prices, DOE said that it would begin buying approximately {{convert|12000000|oilbbl}} of crude oil to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, replenishing supplies that were sold after hurricanes [[Hurricane Katrina|Katrina]] and [[Hurricane Rita|Rita]] in 2005. The purchase would be funded by the roughly $600 million received from those emergency sales.

On September 9, 2011, a Notice of Cancellation was published in the ''[[Federal Register]]'' after Congress rescinded funding for the expansion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, reversing the SPR expansion initiative previously directed under the Energy Policy Act of 2005.<ref name=sprfaq>{{cite web |url = http://energy.gov/fe/services/petroleum-reserves/strategic-petroleum-reserve/spr-quick-facts-and-faqs#Q7 |title = SPR Quick Facts and FAQs |publisher = United States Department of Energy |access-date = December 24, 2014 }}</ref>

On October 20, 2014, a report by the U.S. [[Government Accountability Office]] (GAO) recommended reducing the size of the Reserve. According to the report, the amount of oil held in reserve exceeds the amount required to be kept on hand given the need for imported crude oil had decreased in recent years. The report said the DOE agreed with the GAO recommendation.<ref>
{{cite news |title = U.S. Oil Exports Would Lower Gas Prices, Government Report Says |newspaper = The Wall Street Journal |url = https://online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-oil-exports-would-lower-gas-prices-government-report-says-1413820500 |date = October 20, 2014 |access-date = October 20, 2014 |first = Christian |last = Berthelsen }}</ref>

On March 19, 2020, President [[Donald Trump]] directed the Department of Energy to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to maximum capacity, when oil was priced at $24 per barrel. This directive was given to help support domestic oil producers given the impending economic collapse from COVID-19 and extreme drops in international oil markets.<ref name = "BloombergSep2022"/><ref>{{Cite web |url = https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-executes-direction-president-trump-announces-solicitation-purchase-crude |title = Department of Energy Executes on Direction of President Trump, Announces Solicitation to Purchase Crude Oil for the SPR to Provide Relief to American Energy Industry |date = March 19, 2020 }}</ref> However, funding was blocked by Congress, with Senate Democratic Leader [[Chuck Schumer]] stating that Democrats had blocked a "bailout for big oil".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.factcheck.org/2022/04/strategic-petroleum-reserve-oil-stocks-declined-under-trump-contrary-to-his-claim/ |title=Strategic Petroleum Reserve Oil Stocks Declined Under Trump, Contrary to His Claim |last=Gore |first=D'Angelo |website=FactCheck.org |date=April 1, 2022 |access-date=April 4, 2022}}</ref><ref name = "BloombergSep2022">{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-13/biden-may-buy-oil-just-below-80-democrats-stymied-trump-at-24 |title=Biden May Buy Oil Just Below $80; Democrats Stymied Trump at $24 |work = Bloomberg |date=September 13, 2022}}</ref>

In 2022, the Biden administration sold 180 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over 6 months. The sale lowered the SPR to its lowest levels in 40 years and was the largest ever release of oil from the SPR.<ref name = "ReutersApril"/> SPR drawdowns continued into 2023, lowering the SPR by 45% from January 2021.<ref name = "politico16oct"/> Since the 2022 sales, the Department of Energy bought back 32.3 million barrels of oil, aiming to purchase at a maximum price of $79 per barrel.<ref name = "ReutersApril"/> However, oil has been purchased exceeding the $79 price cap in March 2024. As of April 2024, further SPR purchases were cancelled due to rising oil prices.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-03/us-cancels-latest-oil-reserve-refill-plan-amid-high-prices |title=US Cancels Latest Oil Reserve Refill Plan Amid High Prices |work = Bloomberg |date=April 3, 2024}}</ref>

===Emergency sales to Israel===
According to the 1975 [[Sinai Interim Agreement]] signed by the United States and [[Israel]], as a precondition for Israel's return of the [[Sinai Peninsula]] and its associated oil reserves to [[Egypt]], in an emergency the United States was obligated to make oil available for sale to Israel for up to five years.<ref>{{cite web |last = Phillips |first = James |url = http://www.heritage.org/Research/MiddleEast/bg76.cfm |title = The Iranian Oil Crisis |publisher = [[The Heritage Foundation]] |date = February 28, 1979 |access-date = February 25, 2012 |url-status = unfit |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100126173509/http://www.heritage.org/Research/MiddleEast/bg76.cfm |archive-date = January 26, 2010 }}</ref> Israel has never invoked the agreement {{citation needed|date=November 2021}}, however. The agreement was extended in 1979, 1994, 2004, and, most recently, in 2015 for a ten-year period.<ref>{{cite news |url = http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/323545 |title = US and Israel Sign Extension of Oil Supply Agreement |date = April 17, 2015 |publisher = Israel National News |access-date = June 21, 2016 }}</ref>

===International obligations===
As a member of the [[International Energy Agency]] (IEA), the United States must stock an amount of petroleum equivalent to at least 90 days of U.S. imports. The SPR contained an equivalent to 141 days of imports as of September 2016. The United States is also obligated to contribute 43.9% of petroleum in any IEA-coordinated release.<ref name=twip2016/>