U.S. Oil Reserve Falls After Releases to Offset Iran Supply Disruption

S. 9 million barrels in the most recent week. The figure marks the lowest inventory level recorded since July 1983.

The reserve has declined by 75 million barrels, or 18 percent, since releases began after the conflict with Iran started in late February. The Trump administration pledged in March to release a total of 172 million barrels to ease fuel-price increases tied to the conflict. The conflict has removed more than 11 million barrels per day from global trade, according to one report.

At current levels the reserve stands a little less than half full. Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Reserve, said the reserve must remain at least 20 percent full to stay operational. “We’re raising alarm bells right now,” Sommers told CNN’s Phil Mattingly on The Lead.

Lipow added that replacement of the released oil will not occur before the peak of hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico. “If we were to get a major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico that shuts production down for several weeks, that buffer would no longer be there,” Lipow said.

The reserve last reached comparable levels during the early Reagan administration, when the United States maintained a smaller economy.