The engineering behind the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is a network of four underground storage facilities located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. The facilities are designed to hold a total of 727 million barrels of crude oil, which is approximately 72 days' worth of the country's daily oil consumption. The SPR was created by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975, which was enacted in response to the 1973 oil embargo. The facilities are operated by the Department of Energy, and the oil stored in them is owned by the US government. The SPR is used to stabilize the US oil supply in times of crisis, such as natural disasters and geopolitical conflicts. The facilities are designed to be able to release oil at a rate of up to 4.4 million barrels per day, which is equivalent to the daily oil consumption of the entire US East Coast. The SPR has been used 28 times to release oil since its creation, with the largest release being 42 million barrels in 2020. The SPR also serves as a national security asset, as it allows the US to maintain a strategic reserve of oil in case of a national emergency.