US oil reserves hit 40-year low as Iran war drains caverns, risking collapse
US oil reserves are so low, the caverns holding them could be damaged
The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped to its lowest level in 40 years amid the war with Iran, with experts warning that repeated rapid drawdowns could permanently damage the underground salt caverns that hold the crude. The reserve has fallen below 300 million barrels for the first time since the early 1980s, and the current release of 172 million barrels will leave it at about 243 million barrels. Petroleum engineering professor Siddharth Misra of Texas A&M University told CNBC that the system was not designed for so many cycles, leading to severe cavern deformation and increased risk of structural cave-in. The Department of Energy dismissed the concerns, stating that the caverns are always full and that the administration is responsibly managing the reserve.
Because the system was not designed for this many cycles, the repeated injection of water and extraction of oil have caused severe cavern deformation, accelerated the rate of massive salt falls from the ceilings, and significantly weakened the overall structural integrity of the aging reserve.