The United States created its Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 1975.
Congress authorized the reserve through the Energy Policy and Conservation Act after the 1973 oil crisis exposed the vulnerability of U.S. fuel supplies. The reserve was intended to provide emergency crude oil during a severe supply disruption.
The oil is stored in a network of underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast, mainly in Texas and Louisiana. Salt formations are used because they can hold crude securely and allow rapid withdrawal through specially engineered facilities.
The reserve is a government stockpile of crude oil, not gasoline. Refineries must process the released crude before it becomes fuel. It has been used or tapped during several disruptions, including the Gulf War, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2022 response to global market turmoil.