Pfluger, Fletcher Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Study Strategic Petroleum Reserve Modernization

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) and Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) introduced the 21st Century Strategic Petroleum Reserve Act (21st Century SPR Act) to direct the U.S. Department of Energy to issue a public report on opportunities to modernize the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).

The SPR has served as America's insurance policy against energy supply disruptions for nearly half a century, but its infrastructure is aging. Modernizing the SPR is a national security imperative. Without a clear plan for its future, we risk being caught off guard the next time a global crisis threatens America's energy supply.

If enacted, the 21st Century SPR Act would require the Secretary of Energy, within 90 days of enactment, to request that the National Petroleum Council-an advisory committee to the Secretary-deliver a public report within one year analyzing opportunities to improve and modernize the SPR's physical infrastructure and operations to respond to supply shocks.

"The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was built to protect America from energy supply disruptions and national security threats, but nearly fifty years later, we're still operating without a concrete plan for its future. We can't afford to ignore this issue as our adversaries are quietly building up their energy reserves. This legislation is a straightforward step to get the answers we need and start modernizing the SPR for the challenges of today, not decades ago," said Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11).

Congress created the SPR after the 1973 Arab oil embargo to protect American consumers and the economy from sudden supply shocks. The reserve stores crude oil in underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana, giving the federal government a tool to stabilize prices when global oil supplies are disrupted.

A recent U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that Congress and the Department of Energy still lack a unified long-term plan for the SPR, including a target size for the reserve and a clear strategy for maintaining its aging infrastructure.

Meanwhile, other countries have moved to build up their own reserves. China, which is not a member of the International Energy Agency and does not publicly disclose its inventory, holds an estimated 1.4 billion barrels of oil in strategic reserves-more than four times the current U.S. stockpile, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Read full text of the bill HERE.