Depleted strategic oil reserve nears level that raises concerns about damage to caverns, operations

The caverns that hold the U.S. strategic oil reserves could get damaged by the rapid release of stockpiles in response to the Iran war, experts warned this week as inventories hit a four-decade low.

Damage to the caverns would make it more difficult to respond to future energy emergencies, the experts said. The oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is stored at 60 salt caverns thousands of feet underground at four major sites along the Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas.