- The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped to roughly 293 million barrels — perilously close to the 252.4 million-barrel legal floor that would severely limit its use as a quick market buffer.
- The SPR sits in aging underground salt caverns that can’t be emptied; rapid drawdowns risk cavern collapse, equipment failure, and require careful use of salt-saturated brine and much slower pumping rates.
- If inventory falls below the statutory limit, routine limited releases are prohibited and the SPR becomes a last-resort emergency-only tool, complicating responses to future supply shocks.
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