U.S. emergency oil reserves fall below 300 million barrels for first time since 1980s

Pars Today — U.S. emergency oil reserves have fallen below 300 million barrels for the first time since the reserve was established decades ago and in more than 40 years, following the U.S. aggression against Iran.

According to Pars Today, citing IRNA, new data from the U.S. Department of Energy shows that the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) held 298.7 million barrels of oil as of Friday. The Hill reported that the last time U.S. oil reserves fell below 300 million barrels was in the early 1980s.

The decline was not entirely unexpected, as the Donald Trump administration announced in March that it would release 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over a 120-day period.

The U.S. aggression against Iran has also increased pressure on global oil supplies, as it has restricted the movement of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s key oil transit chokepoints. This situation has contributed to higher fuel prices for consumers at gas stations.