Strategic Petroleum Reserve Fast Facts

Here's a look at what you need to know about the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is a stockpile of crude owned by the US government.

It provides a back-up supply of crude oil if the commercial oil supply is disrupted.

The crude oil is stored in underground salt caverns in a government complex along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. Salt formations are the cheapest, most environmentally safe way to store crude oil.

The current storage capacity is 714 million barrels.

The average price paid for the oil in the SPR is $29.70 a barrel.

December 22, 1975 - President Gerald Ford establishes the SPR when he signs into law the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The law is created in response to the oil embargo of 1973-1974 and the severe effect it had on the US economy. It mandates that the United States maintain a stockpile of one million barrels of petroleum, which is the largest emergency supply in the world.