U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States will soon begin replenishing its Strategic Petroleum Reserve, without specifying when the purchases will begin or how much oil the country intends to add to its stockpiles.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama, Trump said the United States would replenish the strategic reserve “very soon, at no cost.”
The remarks came after Trump said in an interview with Time magazine that the United States had obtained large quantities of Venezuelan oil and intended to use the supplies to strengthen its national petroleum reserves.
The comments come as the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to about 284 million barrels, its lowest level since 1982, following extensive withdrawals carried out as part of an international response to disruptions in global energy markets.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on September 9 that global oil inventories had declined by about 400 million barrels during 2026, with the decline expected to continue through the end of the year.
Established in 1975 following the Arab oil embargo associated with the 1973 October War, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the world’s largest emergency crude oil stockpile. It has a maximum storage capacity of 714 million barrels, held in underground salt caverns along the Gulf Coast.
Current inventories represent roughly 40% of the reserve’s maximum storage capacity, as global energy markets face mounting pressure from geopolitical tensions and the continuing effects of the global energy crisis.
