America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve: Five Fast Facts

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created to provide the nation with a viable emergency stock of petroleum during supply, geopolitical and price shocks.

The four sites of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve — two in Texas and two in Louisiana. The underground salt domes provide an efficient (they self-seal and are much cheaper than above-ground tanks) and convenient storage for petroleum reserves. (Image: U.S. Energy Dept.)

First, what is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)? A U.S. government complex of “four sites with deep…