Why is only crude oil stored in the Reserve?
The SPR is authorized by law to store both refined products and crude oil. However, in preparing the 1977 SPR Plan for development of the Reserve, an analysis of the U.S. refining industry indicated that the industry was robust and had the refining capacity to satisfy the major portion of the nation’s demand for petroleum products. This continues to be true today–30 years later. The U.S. petroleum import dependency is overwhelmingly crude oil, not refined products. In addition, crude oil, is cheaper to acquire, store and transport than refined products. Crude oil quality does not degrade over time as do refined products and crude oil provides flexibility in responding to fluctuations in refined product market needs; whereas, refined products are expensive to maintain and are subject to changes in specifications mandated by environmental legislation.
