"On March 19, 2020, President Donald Trump directed the Department of Energy to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to maximum capacity, when oil was priced at $24 per barrel. This directive was given to help support domestic oil producers given the impending economic collapse from COVID-19 and extreme drops in international oil markets.[30][31] However, funding was blocked by Congress, with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer stating that Democrats had blocked a "bailout for big oil"."
"On March 31, 2022, President Joe Biden announced that his administration would release 1 million barrels of oil per day from the reserve for the next 180 days, selling it at an average price of $96 per barrel. The 2022 release became the largest ever SPR sale and lowered the SPR to its lowest levels in 40 years.[10] After oil prices declined during the second half of the year, in December the administration announced it would begin replenishing the SPR in early 2023, expecting to purchase oil at a lower price than it was sold, a process that would take months or years to complete.[11][12][13] The Biden administration continued to release reserves in 2023, selling off 45% of the SPR by September 2023.[14] The Department of Energy unveiled plans to purchase oil at a price of $79 per barrel or less, but has since purchased oil at higher prices. As of April 2024, further purchases were cancelled due to rising oil prices."
According to legislation already in place, the amount of oil in the reserve could fall to 238 million barrels by 2028.[16] This will be a 67% reduction to the oil in the reservoir since 2010."
