Petroleum Protection

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, established in the 1970s to protect against unexpected oil supply reductions, was filled slightly beyond capacity on 12/27/09 when it held 726.6 million barrels across all four storage sites along the Gulf of Mexico. For most of the last decade the SPR held 700 million barrels, but inventory had fallen to 600 million before the most recent 180-million-barrel release. The average price per barrel is $29.70.