Will Franklin at WILLisms has a nice capsule version of what the SPR is:
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)Will goes on a bit more outlining where the storage facilities are and just how terrorist-proof they are (think VERY!). Just think, if Kerry had been elected, the reserves would not be at this capacity and he would have probably tapped them earlier this spring to help "cap" gas prices. Carter's gas price "caps" were directly responsible for the gas shortages and lineups at the stations. Ask any competent economist...
The Bush administration announced that it would tap into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to alleviate some of the supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Katrina. Shortly after 9/11, President Bush ordered the SPR filled. Over the past year or two, President Bush caught plenty of flak when his administration continued to fill the SPR when oil was 50 dollars a barrel. But filling the reserve was a priority for national security, so today the reserve is as full as it has ever been and near capacity (727 million barrels).
If OPEC (and the rest of the world) shut down oil shipments to the U.S., we could tap into the SPR for roughly two months and be just fine. The idea there is that two months is plenty of time to liberate a country or two and get the oil flowing again. Two months of no petroleum shipments to the U.S. would also put the serious hurt on the economies of those implementing the embargo. Thus, the existence of the SPR forces countries to think twice before using oil as a geostragetical weapon against America.
Some quick facts on the SPR:
- Average price paid for oil in the Reserve - $27.25 per barrel
- Maximum drawdown capability - 4.4 million barrels per day
- Time for oil to enter U.S. market - 13 days from Presidential decision
- Investment to date - More than $21 billion ($4 billion for facilities; $17 billion for crude oil)
- When did it first open? - On July 21, 1977, the first oil - approximately 412,000 barrels of Saudi Arabian light crude - was delivered to the SPR. Fill of the Nation's emergency oil reserve had begun.
I do think if Mr.Kerry had been elected, the whole world other than Mr.Blair would not be pissed at us in the first place, our crisis would be handled in the first 24 hours not waiting for the phy ops guys to finish their study, or Mr.Bush to wrap up his vacation at his dude ranch.
Watching poor folks on T.V. beg for water,food and medical help for five days does not bode well for the elitist in upcoming elections. Think "BILLARY!"