GAO Sends Strategic Petroleum Reserve Audit to House Committee as Congress Funds Repairs and Purchases

The Government Accountability Office sent a performance audit report on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week. Washington Examiner reported that the audit, conducted from February 2024 to May 2026, identified risks to the reserve's ability to meet future supply disruptions. Current inventories total 331.2 million barrels, the lowest since 1983.

The reserve holds a designed capacity of approximately 714 million barrels across four facilities. The audit focused on infrastructure that the Department of Energy first flagged as at or beyond design life more than ten years ago.

A $1.4 billion life-extension project approved in late 2016 aimed to add 25 years of service but fell behind schedule by early 2023. The Department of Energy reduced repair scope at three sites and removed the West Hackberry facility in Louisiana from the project entirely.

As of May 2026, remaining work is scheduled to finish at Bayou Choctaw, Louisiana, by the end of 2026, at Bryan Mound, Texas, in mid-2027, and at Big Hill, Texas, in early 2028.

A January 2026 spill of nearly 170 barrels at Bryan Mound occurred after a pipe not included in the reduced project split. Congress approved $171 million for refills and $218 million for repairs under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed last year. The Department of Energy estimates $650 million is still needed for full repairs.

As of December 2025, effective drawdown capability stood at 61 percent of design and fill capability at 56 percent. In March the Trump administration announced plans to draw 172 million barrels while arranging purchases of approximately 200 million barrels over the next year. If completed, that would raise inventories to about 443 million barrels.