WASHINGTON—The Biden administration has asked Congress for $500 million to modernize the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve (SPR), a document outlining the request shows.
If approved by Congress, the request, issued by the White House on Nov. 15, provides the Department of Energy (DOE) with funding to improve the four SPR sites along the Texas and Louisiana coasts.
President Joe Biden announced the biggest withdrawal ever from the reserve earlier this year of 180 million barrels in an effort to push down oil prices. The historic release of oil has pushed supplies in the SPR to the lowest level since March of 1984.
The SPR oil is stored in hollowed-out, underground salt caverns that can shift and potentially require maintenance when petroleum is removed and replaced. The facility’s steel pumps and equipment are also subject to constant lashing of moist, salty air, which can be corrosive….