Strategic Petroleum Reserve: DOE Needs to Strengthen Its Approach to Planning the Future of the Emergency Stockpile

Abstract

More than 4 decades ago, Congress authorized the creation of the SPR to reduce the impact of disruptions in supplies of petroleum products. DOE manages the SPR. As a member of the International Energy Agency, the United States is obligated to maintain reserves equivalent to at least 90 days of the previous years net imports(imports minus exports). The SPRs storage and related infrastructure is aging, and DOE has plans to modernize these facilities. Since 2015,Congress has mandated crude oil sales. As of March 2018, the SPR held about 665 million barrels of crude oil. GAO was asked to examine the SPRs ability to meet U.S. energy security needs. This report examines, among other things, the extent to which (1)DOE has identified the optimal size of the SPR, and (2) DOEs plans for modernizing the SPR take into account the effects of congressionally mandated crude oil sales. GAO reviewed DOEs plans and studies, and interviewed agency officials and nine experts selected based on prior work, referrals, and a literature review.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2018
Accession Number
AD1168799

Entities

People

  • Frank W. Rusco

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Best Practices
  • Business Administration
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Costs
  • Emergencies
  • Energy Security
  • Foreign Relations
  • Gasoline
  • Governments
  • House Of Representatives
  • Infrastructure
  • International Relations
  • Inventory
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Petroleum
  • Petroleum Industry
  • Surface Transportation
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • United States Government

Readers

  • Petroleum Engineering
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting