	Introduction

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), administered by the Department of Energy (DOE), has been a part of U.S. oil security policy for over 40 years. Originally intended as a reserve to replace oil that might be withdrawn from the world market to forward political purposes and objectives, its rationale has evolved with the changing world oil market and the role of the United States in the market. Use of oil from the SPR has helped to minimize the economic effect of those events. Low growth in petroleum product demand, rapidly increasing domestic oil production, and falling net imports of crude oil and petroleum products have reduced U.S. dependence on foreign oil suppliers. For some, a question exists as to how much oil might be withdrawn from the Reserve while still maintaining an adequate oil "safety net." International Energy Agency (IEA) Obligations

The IEA was established in November 1974, with a broad mandate on energy security and energy policy coordination among member countries during energy-related emergencies. IEA member countries, including the United States, have committed to maintaining stocks of crude oil and petroleum products equivalent to 90 days of their previous year's net imports; developing programs for demand restraint in the event of emergencies; and agreeing to participate in an allocation of oil deliveries program to balance shortages among IEA member nations. The SPR at its current holdings of 649.1 million barrels of crude oil satisfies the U.S. strategic stock holding requirement. Considered in another way, the net import level of 3.768 mmb/d, when multiplied by 90 days required stocks, implies a need for the United States to hold about 340 million barrels in the SPR. This could create a demand for SPR unused capacity by nations that have a shortage of domestic oil storage facilities. The legislation that directs sales from the SPR is not time coordinated. H.R. The most important benefit of leasing excess SPR capacity is the receipt of fees to "fully compensate the United States for all costs of storage, and removals of petroleum products (including the proportionate cost of replacement facilities necessitated as a result of withdrawals) incurred by the United States as a result of such lease." These fees can help offset the facilities operation and maintenance costs of the reserve, which were $233 million in FY2017. First conceived as protection against the "weaponization" of oil in the 1970s, it later became a safeguard against the disruption caused by domestic natural disasters. Most recently the Reserve has served as a source of funding for a variety of programs and activities. In each case, while its range of application has expanded, it still maintained its ability to respond to its original requirements. Even if changing market conditions have made the reserve's rationale less compelling in the current environment than in the past, the SPR can provide a component of energy security policy as well as meeting other policy needs.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), administered by the Department of Energy (DOE), has played a role in U.S. energy policy for over 40 years. Over that time, its primary focus has changed from its original intent as world oil market conditions have changed. Originally intended to offset the market power of cartels and prevent economic damage from oil supply disruption, it has become primarily a tool for combatting the fuel market effects of domestic natural disasters like hurricanes. Most recently, U.S. net imports of oil and petroleum products have decreased as a result of the increase in domestic oil production. Because of lower reliance on imports, some stakeholders see less need for an oil stockpile, and view the SPR more as a mechanism for providing funding for a wide variety of legislative purposes, ranging from health care, to highways, and general purpose revenues. Over this period, the SPR has expanded its potential usefulness to cover all of these purposes.
As a member of the International Energy Agency (IEA) and a participant in the International Energy Program established by the IEA, the United States, as are all net-importer nations in the IEA, is required to hold the equivalent of 90 days of its net imports of oil and petroleum products as a reserve stock. As a result of relatively stable U.S. oil consumption and rapidly increasing production, and declining net imports, available oil stocks held in the SPR now are almost double the 90-day requirement.
While the SPR has recently seen relatively little use in combatting oil supply disruptions caused by political and military instability, or even natural disasters, it has provided a source of funding for a variety of legislative initiatives. These mandated sales from the SPR have committed almost 260 million barrels of oil for sale by FY2027, leaving less than 400 million barrels of uncommitted oil reserves. Determining whether further reductions can be made from the reserve while maintaining its ability to carry out its designed purpose is a key energy policy question. The extreme variant of this question is whether a reserve is required at all, or whether privately held stocks, as practiced by most European countries, are adequate to meet international commitments.
Legislation in the 115th Congress, H.R. 6511, sought to maintain the SPR facility and infrastructure, while reducing operating and maintenance costs, by renting unused storage capacity in the reserve to private companies and foreign nations. As of this writing, no bills have been introduced in the 116th Congress modifying the SPR.