The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve only has a 20-day supply for the country

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Fact

In 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) imposed an oil embargo against the United States, triggering a crude oil crisis that sent the U.S. economy into a recession. To mitigate any future shortages of oil, President Gerald Ford signed the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, which established the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

The SPR is centrally located along the Gulf Coast, where the oil can be distributed to nearly half of all U.S. oil refineries using interstate pipelines or barges.

Interestingly, California, the 4th largest economy in the world, has no access to the SPR as there are no pipelines over the Sierra Mountains to reach the “California Energy Island”.

A few years after the SPR was authorized, in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis in 1977, the Department of Energy was established to lessen our dependence on foreign oil.

Today, California, the 4^th largest economy in the world, California is importing almost 60 percent of its crude oil demands from foreign countries to support the state’s 9 International airports, 41 Military airports, and 3 of the largest shipping ports in America!

Now, after 50 years, the Department of Energy (DOE) is comprised of approximately 14,000 federal employees, over 95,000 management and operating contractors, 83 field locations, and a $48 billion dollar budget, the United States remains a net crude oil importer. Although exports increased in the first half of 2023, the United States’ demands have also been increasing, resulting in imports exceeding exports, meaning the U.S. remains a net crude oil importer.