A typical cavern holds 10 million barrels and is cylindrical in shape with a diameter of 200 feet and a height of 2,500 feet.2 Each SPR cavern contains either sweet or sour crude; there is no comingling of the two streams within individual storage caverns.
Sour crude has a sulfur content in excess of 0.5%. On July 21, 1977, the first shipment of approximately 412,000 bbl of Saudi Arabian light crude was delivered to the SPR.4 The Reserve completed filling 32 years later on December 27, 2009.5 The SPR was designed for five complete drawdown/refill cycles whereby the caverns are drained and then refilled.
Without getting too technical, the SPR isn't draining individual caverns as it sells oil, but instead is only reducing the inventory across many caverns.
Much has been written about the Biden administration's recent drawdown from the SPR, which has reduced the SPR inventory6 to its lowest point since 1984.
10 With the projections for a bad winter in the northeast, can the Biden administration resist the urge to sell even more SPR oil? Image: A pumpjack in Texas by Flcelloguy.
In March of 2020, former President Donald Trump wanted to fill up the SPR, and wanted to include in a stimulus package before Congress $3 billion to take advantage of lower oil prices that had fallen earlier that month.
13 If Congress was reluctant to spend $3 billion two years ago, how willing will Congress be to spend eight times that much in 2023? Even if Republicans take control of Congress, will they have enough votes to override a possible presidential veto? A full SPR acts as a deterrent to oil embargoes since it delays the impact of an embargo by four months.
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