US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has said that refilling government oil reserves this year will be difficult due to maintenance at two Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites and an ongoing crude sale mandated by Congress.
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- The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, intended to protect against supply disruptions, has fallen to the lowest level since the 1980s.
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- This follows a 180 million-barrel drawdown authorized by the Biden administration to tame gasoline prices after the war in Ukraine.
Although tumbling crude prices have revived expectations of replenishing the emergency reserves, the Energy Department has said it cannot refill the reserve while simultaneously distributing oil from the stockpile.
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- Granholm added that it will take “a few years” to refill the reserve.