The SPR is the lowest since 1982, but days should be the big concern. 
According to the Energy Information Agency, the Weekly U.S. Ending Stocks of Crude Oil in the Strategy Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are at the lowest level since 1982.
Strategic Reserves Millions of Barrels
Strategic Reserves Millions of Barrels Detail
Reserves in barrels don’t accurately present the severity of the situation.
Strategic Oil Reserves Supply in Days
Dwindling SPR Rising Demand
Reserves are sinking while demand is rising. The lead chart tells this important story better than raw SPR numbers.
Supply in days is the volume of the SPR divided by product supplied, both numbers from the EIA.
Operation Epic Fury that kicked off the War in Iran was February 28, 2026.
At the start of war, the SPR has a supply of 20.9 days. The US now has a supply of 14.8 days.
Trump is using reserves to hold down the price of gasoline at the pump.
Do you think Iran does not understand these reserve numbers?
Crazy Talk
Talk of spending another month to secure the strait is crazy talk. We don’t have a month.
Besides, there is no guarantee that a month is sufficient timeline to secure the strait.
No Winning Options
Trump is fuming because he has no winning options. His best option was the MOU ceasefire that he just trashed.
Trump could have and should have bragged about what a great deal that was. Instead he reopened the war and does not know what to do with it.
So, here we are with two weeks of reserves and no oil flowing through the strait.
Grok on the Numbers
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July 29, 2026: Iran Launches a Surprise Attack on U.S. Forces in Jordan
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Iran launching a surprise attack is another piece of the puzzle. It shows Trump is lying when he says Iran is desperate for a deal.
Not only is the US running low on weapons, the SPR is down to two weeks supply.
The only surprise here is that anyone thought Trump would do anything other than what he has done. He is a vicious but not smart man.
Obviously not! They’re all turban clad dervishes who worship the moon god or something! Dumb as rocks, each and every one of the mullahs! They don’t stand a chance! We’ll win any day now! We’re doing great! We’ve already won several times! The DOW is over 50,000! This is a new golden age and anyone who can’t see that is insane or something!
“U.S. crude oil production reached a record high of 13.6 million barrels per day in July 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). When including natural gas plant liquids and other petroleum liquids, total U.S. oil production averaged 23.6 million barrels per day in 2025.”
The math is complicated by the fact that not all daily use is from the SPR.
What will most likely break is imports from countries that have little SPR, and are supplying wares to the world.
That’s going to make it really hard to convince voters in November to “stick with the plan”.
September-October will be desperate times.
Gosh, that’s interesting, because when gas was at all time LOW prices during Trump 45 …he wanted to fill the reserve … but the left accused him of supporting his oil buddies and stopped it. Now gas is expensive and it’s Trump’s fault for not filling the reserve. Hmmm.
As Columbo said many times, “Just one more thing”.
Why is gas expensive Mike?
I’m sure you’re looking for a 4 word answer like “because Trump is horrible”. It’s not that simple. Yes, the Iran war is having an impact, but it is still cheaper than Biden gas. The Ukraine war is having an impact, but it is still cheaper than Biden gas. If you listen purely to Mish … you will think Trump inflation is far worse than Bidenflation … but there are actually a whole lot of issues in play.
LOL. When has ANYthing EVER stopped Trump from doing ANYthing he wants to do??!!
So he made his plans clear and Schumer and company went ballistic and accused him of paying off his oil buddies. Gas was lower than it had been for over a decade (less than $1.50/gallon). I could go back and find the articles, but doesn’t seem like the facts are going to sway you here.
Everyone can read the charts
2017 to 2020 (Trump 45) was a steady drawdown, not level, not adding
who was authorizing that?
Was it Biden or was it Obama?
So are you claiming you never read the news and that you don’t know about Trump’s attempt to replenish with gas at historically low values and the democrats going ballistic and claiming he was paying off his oil buddies? Are we really going to deny reality to push this one?