▪️The United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has fallen below 300 million barrels for the first time since it was filled in the early 1980s, after Washington released 172 million barrels in response to supply disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran. Stocks are projected to fall to around 243 million barrels, prompting experts to warn that the rapid drawdown could damage the underground salt caverns used to store the oil, reduce the reserve’s ability to respond to future energy emergencies, and leave critical infrastructure at increased operational risk, according to CNBC.

▪️Energy experts told CNBC that while the US Department of Energy says the reserve can safely operate with as little as 70 million barrels, the practical operational floor is closer to 250–300 million barrels, warning that repeated large-scale releases over decades have weakened the aging storage system. They said continued drawdowns risk slowing emergency oil releases, damaging pumping equipment, destabilizing the storage caverns, and reducing the reserve’s long-term viability. A Government Accountability Office report also warned that repeated drawdown-and-refill cycles have deformed caverns and left parts of the reserve unavailable, with one former US energy adviser cautioning that inventories below 300 million barrels place the US in a more vulnerable position during future crises such as major hurricanes, according to CNBC.