The US is draining its oil reserves at a rapid pace:
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) dropped -7.12 million barrels last week, the largest weekly drawdown since October 2022.
This marks the 5th consecutive weekly decline, the longest streak since 2023.
Over this period,… pic.twitter.com/0FxbdTAuZh
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) April 30, 2026
By the time the SPR drain is complete in July, it will be at the lowest level since the early 1980s.
At the same time we are starting wars, and God forbid China makes a move on Taiwan.
Then we are headed to fuel rationing in the US, and more importantly food shortages.— Revenant Disciple (@SpiritAbsolved) May 1, 2026
The US is invoking the Defense Production Act to push oil producers to increase output
Most US refineries are set up for heavy crude, while US production is mostly light sweet crude… additional production is likely to be exported, not used domestically
– If the war is ending… pic.twitter.com/RM6CcD0uvt
— Lukas Ekwueme (@ekwufinance) May 1, 2026
The President signed a memo labeling oil production and logistics “essential to national defense.” This allows the gov to bypass state-level red tape and force companies to prioritize energy infrastructure.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is sitting around 411 million barrels (down significantly from its 714M capacity). The DOE is now “loaning” out another 92.5M barrels to combat $111/bbl prices.
Legal filings suggest the DPA is being used specifically to crush California’s environmental blocks on the Santa Ynez pipeline. The goal is to force dormant wells back into “maximal production.”