Significant U.S. Oil Production Deficit

According to raw data from the Energy Information Agency, from August 2021 through July this year, the U.S. government sold off 25 percent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Data beyond July is not yet available. 

The SPR sell-off increased domestic crude-oil supply more than during any other 12-month period on record. For example, in the months of May, June and July, the SPR drawdown worked as an oil supply increase of, respectively, 4.7 percent, 6.0 percent and 5.4 percent.

Figure 1 reports the change in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as percent of total U.S. field production. An increase in SPR is reported as a deduction from U.S. field production (green) while a sell-off of SPR is reported as an increase (red):

Figure 1

Source of raw data: Energy Information Agency

In the first six months of 2022, the United States net-imported crude oil equal to 3.9 percent of domestic field production. During the same period of time, the sell-off of SPR crude oil equaled 4.8 percent of domestic field production. In other words, there was a domestic production deficit equal to 8.7 percent of total crude-oil consumption.