Biden Drained Nation’s Energy Reserves, OBBB May Not Be Able To Refill

Upon taking office in January, President Donald Trump proclaimed that “We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top, and export American energy all over the world.” The statement referred to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the nation’s energy stockpile. It wasn’t the only time Trump stated his administration would replenish the stockpile.

However, the Big Beautiful Bill allocated only $171 million for petroleum acquisitions toward that goal. To get back to where it was when former President Joe Biden took office, the federal government needs to purchase approximately 236 million barrels of oil. At current oil prices, which have been hovering around $65 per barrel for the past few weeks, the $171 million Congress allocated will only add a few million barrels to the reserve.

Energy security is national security
The SPR was created in the wake of the 1972 OPEC oil embargo in order to mitigate the market impacts of domestic and international disruptions. At its peak in January 2010, it contained nearly 727 million barrels of oil.

When former President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the SPR contained more than 638 million barrels of oil, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In June 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the average retail price of gasoline in the U.S. was nearly $4.30 per gallon. With the midterms approaching, the high cost of gas threatened to push more voters toward Republican candidates. In an effort to bring those prices down, Biden began draining the SPR. By the time Trump took office, it held approximately 395 million barrels.