{"id":5471,"date":"2026-08-18T05:17:46","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T05:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471"},"modified":"2026-08-18T05:17:46","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T05:17:46","slug":"u-s-strategic-reserves-are-getting-so-low-the-drawdown-threatens-to-damage-the-60-underground-salt-caverns-storing-american-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471","title":{"rendered":"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Last week, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) plunged below 300 million barrels for the first time since the 1980s, when the reserves were being filled, according to the Department of Energy. That pool is expected to drain further to 243 million barrels as the U.S. releases 172 million barrels to manage severe supply disruptions and rising energy costs due to the Iran war.<\/p>\n

Read more Ousted L3Harris CEO Chris Kubasik forfeits $45 million\u2014but he\u2019ll still walk away with $80 million in stock and options<\/a><\/p>\n

Those reserves are kept in 60 salt caverns across two sites in Texas and two sites in Louisiana, each thousands of feet underground. They have a total storage capacity of 714 million barrels. But as oil is drained from these reserves, the integrity of the caverns may be imperiled.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anyone who believes we can go below 300,\u201d Amos Hochstein, a senior energy advisor for former President Joe Biden, told CNBC on Saturday. \u201cI know plenty of people who think we can\u2019t get near 300 because physically you will damage the caverns where the oil is stored.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Energy denied Hochstein\u2019s claim that the changing inventory levels risk harming the caverns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe caverns are always full. All that changes is the ratio of oil and water that is filling them,\u201d DOE chief spokesperson Ben Dietderich told Fortune<\/em> in a statement. \u201cPresident Trump and [Energy Secretary Chris Wright] are responsibly managing the SPR as the critical national security asset it was designed to be, helping stabilize oil markets and protect Americans from supply disruptions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Republicans and Democrats have used the status of the caverns as political ammo on issues surrounding the SPR. In 2025, Wright testified to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy that President Donald Trump\u2019s efforts to replenish the SPR were hampered by more than $100 million in necessary repairs to the reserve\u2019s facilities. The restoration, he argued, was a result of the quick drawdown of reserves following the Biden administration selling nearly 200 million barrels in 2022 and 2023 to steady global energy costs amid Russian\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe immediate thing we need to do is finish the repairs on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,\u201d Wright said in testimony. \u201cIt was drawn down so quickly, and that causes some damage to the infrastructure itself. Those repairs are ongoing, and it costs a nontrivial amount of money to repair the SPR.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more The \u2018Jamie premium\u2019 nears $1 trillion as JP Morgan flirts with historic market valuation<\/a><\/p>\n

As of May, most of the SPR\u2019s caverns were in \u201cvery good condition\u201d following the drawdowns, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released to the public in June. However, the GAO warned \u201cevery drawdown cycle expands cavern volume and reduces the spacing between caverns within the salt dome, which ultimately reduces their long-term viability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Engineering experts, indeed, still have concerns about the longevity of the caverns given the repeated drawdown of the SPR. Siddharth Misra, a professor of petroleum engineering and geophysics at Texas A&M University, explained that when the caverns were constructed in the 1970s and \u201980s, they were designed to have an initial 25-year life span, engineered to handle just five drawdowns and refills. Instead, the facilities have endured dozens of releases in that time frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

During these drawdowns, the total fluid volume inside the facilities must always remain at 714 million barrels, meaning operators must pump fresh water into the facilities to keep pressure stable, Misra noted. The water \u201caggressively dissolves the salt walls,\u201d widening the cavern and thining the walls separating the adjacent chambers. Moreover, pumping so much cool water inside the caverns, which naturally have a higher temperature, can result in thermal shock, causing large pieces of salt to fall and break, potentially damaging the extraction pipes within the cavern.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cFrom an engineering and geomechanical standpoint, these concerns are highly valid,\u201d Misra told Fortune<\/em> in an email. \u201cSalt is a highly dynamic rock type, and aggressively altering the fluids, pressure, and temperatures inside these deep caverns directly threatens their structural integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the Department of Energy saying the minimum amount of oil to operate the SPR is 70 million barrels, Misra said the current reserve levels still present a real risk to the reserves, which will hit their legal limit of 252 million barrels in about three months if extraction moves at a conservative pace of 500,000 barrels per day. There\u2019s also increased risk of physical damage, he said, including a layer of an oil-water-impurity sludge rising near the ceiling intake of the extraction system, which can destroy the surface pumps, as well as dissolution of the salt wall and thermal shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be highly concerned about the integrity of the caverns anytime crude inventories drop below 300 million barrels,\u201d Misra said. \u201cAt these depleted levels, the reserve physically loses its ability to pump oil at the rapid emergency speeds it was built to achieve without risking severe structural damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Andreessen Horowitz focus of DOJ probe over board directors<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe should be highly concerned about the integrity of the caverns anytime crude inventories drop below 300 million barrels.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oil"],"yoast_head":"\nU.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil - Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWe should be highly concerned about the integrity of the caverns anytime crude inventories drop below 300 million barrels."\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-18T05:17:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"headline\":\"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T05:17:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471\"},\"wordCount\":854,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5d90bec87d3df03893f8943df4787412.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Oil\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471\",\"name\":\"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil - Cross Country Moving Team\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5d90bec87d3df03893f8943df4787412.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T05:17:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5d90bec87d3df03893f8943df4787412.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/5d90bec87d3df03893f8943df4787412.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5471#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cross Country Moving Team\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil - Cross Country Moving Team","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil - Cross Country Moving Team","og_description":"\u201cWe should be highly concerned about the integrity of the caverns anytime crude inventories drop below 300 million barrels.\"","og_url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471","og_site_name":"Cross Country Moving Team","article_published_time":"2026-08-18T05:17:46+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"headline":"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil","datePublished":"2026-08-18T05:17:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471"},"wordCount":854,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5d90bec87d3df03893f8943df4787412.webp","articleSection":["Oil"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471","name":"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil - Cross Country Moving Team","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5d90bec87d3df03893f8943df4787412.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-18T05:17:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5d90bec87d3df03893f8943df4787412.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/5d90bec87d3df03893f8943df4787412.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5471#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"U.S. strategic reserves are getting so low the drawdown threatens to damage the 60 underground salt caverns storing American oil"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/","name":"Cross Country Moving Team","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com"],"url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}