Publication

This paper discusses the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Congress authorized such a reserve in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to help prevent a repetition of the economic dislocation caused by the 1973-74 Arab oil embargo. The program is managed by the Department of Energy (DOE). Physically, the SPR comprises five underground storage facilities, hollowed out from naturally occurring salt domes in Texas and Louisiana. It currently has a capacity of 727 million barrels.