Aug. 10 at 6:40 PM
$DOW $KMI $NOG $OXY $PBR
The SPR fell by 6.1 million barrels to 298.7 million barrels last week, according to data released by the Department of Energy on Monday. The reserve is at its lowest level since January 1983. The 6.1 million drain was a big jump in the SPR's recent moderating trend which saw the previous week only 2.8 million barrels exit the strategic reserve.
It is only a matter of time before the SPR can no longer be used to plug the gap so to speak. That's because the oil industry has generally accepted that the operational minimum for oil in the SPR, a point at which it would be more difficult to pump out the oil, is somewhere between 250 million and 300 million barrels. Meanwhile, sizing studies done on the SPR in the 1970s recommended an inventory minimum of 250 million barrels.
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/us-spr-falls-below-300-million-operational-limit-oil-drain-unexpectedly-surges-61mm-barrels
