Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
Desert Storm Triggers the SPR's First Emergency Drawdown
James Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United StatesUS Department of Energy
01/16/1991 - 04/03/1991CONFIRMED 87% CONFIDENCE35.7 years agoDOE dates the authorisation to Bush's address of 16 January 1991 and the last of the 17.3 million barrels to 3 April 1991; the pin's exclusive end is the following midnight UTC.^[1]
Hours after announcing allied air attacks on Iraq, President Bush ordered the first emergency sale in the reserve's history. The Energy Department released its sales notice on 17 January 1991 and eventually sold 17.3 million barrels to 13 companies, half of what it offered: bids for sour crude came in too low to accept.
0.65
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
DOE Awards the Biggest Exchange in the SPR's Fifty Years
James Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United StatesUS Department of Energy
Starts 05/11/2026CONFIRMED 92% CONFIDENCE135 days agoDOE's award announcement is dated 11 May 2026; the 92.5-million-barrel solicitation it answers was issued on 30 April 2026.^[1]
After soliciting up to 92.5 million barrels from all four storage sites - the largest single exchange in the reserve's history - DOE awarded contracts for 53.3 million on 11 May 2026, at a return premium of about 28 per cent. That is 15.1 million extra barrels owed back to the stockpile.
0.65
Economy09/21/2026@EconDesk
The Longest Government Shutdown in US History Begins
United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., United StatesUnited States Congress
10/01/2025 - 11/12/2025CONFIRMED 89% CONFIDENCE357 days agoThe shutdown began just after midnight on 1 October 2025 and ended on 12 November 2025 when the President signed the stopgap, a span of 43 days.^[1]
Federal funding lapsed just after midnight on 1 October 2025 and stayed lapsed for 43 days, the longest shutdown ever, over a fight about expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
0.65
Law09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Biden Signs the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The White House, Washington, DC
11/15/2021 - 09/30/2026CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE4.9 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "Biden signed the bill into law at a signing ceremony on November 15." Its authorisations ran FY2022-FY2026 and expired on 30 September 2026, per CRS R47573.
President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, directing $1.2 trillion toward roads, bridges, rail, water systems and broadband nationwide.
$1.20
0.64
Infrastructure09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Hoover Dam Dedicated by President Roosevelt
Hoover Dam, Nevada-Arizona border, USAUnited States Bureau of Reclamation
Starts 09/30/1935CONFIRMED 85% CONFIDENCE91.0 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates dam September 30th."
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, then the largest concrete structure ever built.
0.63
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
The Reserve Falls Below 300 Million Barrels, Its Lowest Since 1983
US Department of EnergyJames Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United States
Starts 08/10/2026CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE44 days agoThe figure comes from the Energy^[3] Department's weekly stocks data released on Monday 10 August 2026, as reported the same day.
Weekly Energy Department data published on 10 August 2026 put the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at 298.7 million barrels, down 6.1 million in a week and the lowest reading in the EIA series since January 1983. The stockpile had held about 415 million barrels before the Iran war began.
0.63
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
DOE Puts 86 Million Barrels Up for Exchange at Once
US Department of EnergyJames Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United States
Starts 03/13/2026CONFIRMED 92% CONFIDENCE194 days agoDOE's press release announcing the RFP is dated 13 March 2026 and gives the bid deadline of 5:00 p.m. CT on 17 March 2026.^[1]
The first tranche of the 172-million-barrel release went out as a request for proposals on 13 March 2026, covering 86 million barrels from Bryan Mound, West Hackberry and Bayou Choctaw. Bids were due the following Tuesday, and the borrowers must hand the oil back with extra barrels on top.
0.62
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
The First 412,000 Barrels Go Underground at West Hackberry
US Department of EnergyWest Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Hackberry, Cameron Parish, LA 70645, United States
Starts 07/21/1977CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE49.2 years agoDOE's own 40th-anniversary piece gives the day: "On July 21, 1977, the SPR received its first oil delivery."^[1]
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve took its first delivery on 21 July 1977: about 412,000 barrels of Saudi Arabian light crude, pumped into salt caverns near Lake Charles, Louisiana. Construction had started that April, when the government bought up existing caverns along the Gulf Coast rather than wait to dig its own.
0.62
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
Katrina Empties 11 Million Barrels From the Reserve
US Department of EnergyBryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 1900 Bryan Mound Road, Freeport, Brazoria County, TX 77541, United States
Starts 09/02/2005CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE21.1 years agoDOE dates the President's Finding of a Severe Energy^[2][3] Supply Interruption to 2 September 2005; the White House fact sheet announcing the 30-million-barrel release is dated the next day.
Hurricane Katrina shut in about half of US domestic oil production and knocked out refineries and import terminals, so on 2 September 2005 President Bush found a severe energy supply interruption and ordered a sale. DOE offered 30 million barrels and sold 11 million; the first oil left Bryan Mound on 26 September.
0.61
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
Hidroituango Dam Crisis Forces Mass Evacuation in Colombia
EPMItuango, Antioquia, Colombia
Starts 05/12/2018CONFIRMED 81% CONFIDENCE8.4 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "On 12 May, a sudden release of water from the dam flooded municipalities of Puerto Valdivia and Taraza downstream."
A blocked diversion tunnel at Colombia's roughly $4 billion Hidroituango hydroelectric project triggered flooding and landslides that forced thousands of people downstream to evacuate.
$4B
0.60
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
Trump Orders 172 Million Barrels Out as Hormuz Chokes
US Department of EnergyJames Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United States
Starts 03/11/2026CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE196 days agoDOE's press release carries Secretary Wright's statement and is dated 11 March 2026, the day the IEA agreed the collective release.^[1]
Thirty-two IEA member nations agreed on 11 March 2026 to release 400 million barrels between them after Iranian attacks slowed tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The American share was 172 million barrels, the largest US release ever ordered, and Secretary Wright said it would take about 120 days to deliver.
0.60

DOE's press release is dated 1 March 2022, the day the President authorised the release; the notice of sale followed on 2 March.^[1]

Start: Mar 1, 202290% CONFIDENCEfrom the source

Biden Starts the Largest Drawdown in the Reserve's History

Four days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Biden ordered crude out of the SPR as the US share of an IEA release of 60 million barrels. It did not stop there: by that summer 180 million barrels had gone, the biggest emergency sale the reserve had ever made, and it left the stockpile at levels not seen since the 1980s.

Biden authorised the release on 1 March 2022, as part of an IEA collective release of an initial 60 million barrels^[1]
DOE issued the notice of sale on 2 March 2022 for 30 million barrels, to be delivered by the end of May; 109 bids produced contracts with 7 companies for 30,255,000 barrels^[2]
A second notice on 1 April 2022 offered another 30 million barrels for delivery by the end of July^[2]
In all, DOE released 180 million barrels - the largest emergency sale in the reserve's history to that point^[2]
Inventories had been around 600 million barrels at the start of 2022 and were down to about 375 million by the end of it^[3]

@EnergyDesk

References 388% CONFIDENCE

The first entry is always the pin's source. Overall confidence is a weighted average of how firmly each reference supports the start and end times used above; a reference counts half as much for every 180 days older than the newest.

[1]90%
energy.gov/articles/doe-announces-emergency-sale-30-million-barrels-crude-oil-strategic-petroleum-reserve
energy.gov· Posted Sep 22, 2026· Starts Mar 1, 2022 ✓· 33% of score
DOE's press release is dated 1 March 2022, the day the President authorised the release; the notice of sale followed on 2 March.
[2]95%
History of SPR Releases (US Department of Energy)
energy.gov· Added Sep 22, 2026· 33% of score
The Office of Petroleum Reserves' account of the 2022 IEA coordinated release: both notices of sale, the bid counts and the 180-million-barrel total.^[1]
[3]80%
Oil in US Strategic Petroleum Reserve falls to lowest level since 1983 (Fox Business)
foxbusiness.com· Added Sep 22, 2026· 33% of score
Gives the inventory levels either side of the 2022 drawdown, from EIA weekly data.^[1]

Suggest a correction

Something missing or wrong? Say it in your own words: a link that backs this pin up, a different start or end date and why, or a fact it lacks or gets wrong. The AI checks it against this pin's sources, searches for better ones, and adds any page that backs you up. The pin's own sources still count most.

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Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
Desert Storm Triggers the SPR's First Emergency Drawdown
James Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United StatesUS Department of Energy
01/16/1991 - 04/03/1991CONFIRMED 87% CONFIDENCE35.7 years agoDOE dates the authorisation to Bush's address of 16 January 1991 and the last of the 17.3 million barrels to 3 April 1991; the pin's exclusive end is the following midnight UTC.^[1]
Hours after announcing allied air attacks on Iraq, President Bush ordered the first emergency sale in the reserve's history. The Energy Department released its sales notice on 17 January 1991 and eventually sold 17.3 million barrels to 13 companies, half of what it offered: bids for sour crude came in too low to accept.
0.65
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
DOE Awards the Biggest Exchange in the SPR's Fifty Years
James Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United StatesUS Department of Energy
Starts 05/11/2026CONFIRMED 92% CONFIDENCE135 days agoDOE's award announcement is dated 11 May 2026; the 92.5-million-barrel solicitation it answers was issued on 30 April 2026.^[1]
After soliciting up to 92.5 million barrels from all four storage sites - the largest single exchange in the reserve's history - DOE awarded contracts for 53.3 million on 11 May 2026, at a return premium of about 28 per cent. That is 15.1 million extra barrels owed back to the stockpile.
0.65
Economy09/21/2026@EconDesk
The Longest Government Shutdown in US History Begins
United States Capitol, Washington, D.C., United StatesUnited States Congress
10/01/2025 - 11/12/2025CONFIRMED 89% CONFIDENCE357 days agoThe shutdown began just after midnight on 1 October 2025 and ended on 12 November 2025 when the President signed the stopgap, a span of 43 days.^[1]
Federal funding lapsed just after midnight on 1 October 2025 and stayed lapsed for 43 days, the longest shutdown ever, over a fight about expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.
0.65
Law09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Biden Signs the $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The White House, Washington, DC
11/15/2021 - 09/30/2026CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE4.9 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "Biden signed the bill into law at a signing ceremony on November 15." Its authorisations ran FY2022-FY2026 and expired on 30 September 2026, per CRS R47573.
President Biden signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law, directing $1.2 trillion toward roads, bridges, rail, water systems and broadband nationwide.
$1.20
0.64
Infrastructure09/15/2026@BuildDesk
Hoover Dam Dedicated by President Roosevelt
Hoover Dam, Nevada-Arizona border, USAUnited States Bureau of Reclamation
Starts 09/30/1935CONFIRMED 85% CONFIDENCE91.0 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates dam September 30th."
President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, then the largest concrete structure ever built.
0.63
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
The Reserve Falls Below 300 Million Barrels, Its Lowest Since 1983
US Department of EnergyJames Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United States
Starts 08/10/2026CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE44 days agoThe figure comes from the Energy^[3] Department's weekly stocks data released on Monday 10 August 2026, as reported the same day.
Weekly Energy Department data published on 10 August 2026 put the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at 298.7 million barrels, down 6.1 million in a week and the lowest reading in the EIA series since January 1983. The stockpile had held about 415 million barrels before the Iran war began.
0.63
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
DOE Puts 86 Million Barrels Up for Exchange at Once
US Department of EnergyJames Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United States
Starts 03/13/2026CONFIRMED 92% CONFIDENCE194 days agoDOE's press release announcing the RFP is dated 13 March 2026 and gives the bid deadline of 5:00 p.m. CT on 17 March 2026.^[1]
The first tranche of the 172-million-barrel release went out as a request for proposals on 13 March 2026, covering 86 million barrels from Bryan Mound, West Hackberry and Bayou Choctaw. Bids were due the following Tuesday, and the borrowers must hand the oil back with extra barrels on top.
0.62
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
The First 412,000 Barrels Go Underground at West Hackberry
US Department of EnergyWest Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Hackberry, Cameron Parish, LA 70645, United States
Starts 07/21/1977CONFIRMED 90% CONFIDENCE49.2 years agoDOE's own 40th-anniversary piece gives the day: "On July 21, 1977, the SPR received its first oil delivery."^[1]
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve took its first delivery on 21 July 1977: about 412,000 barrels of Saudi Arabian light crude, pumped into salt caverns near Lake Charles, Louisiana. Construction had started that April, when the government bought up existing caverns along the Gulf Coast rather than wait to dig its own.
0.62
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
Katrina Empties 11 Million Barrels From the Reserve
US Department of EnergyBryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve, 1900 Bryan Mound Road, Freeport, Brazoria County, TX 77541, United States
Starts 09/02/2005CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE21.1 years agoDOE dates the President's Finding of a Severe Energy^[2][3] Supply Interruption to 2 September 2005; the White House fact sheet announcing the 30-million-barrel release is dated the next day.
Hurricane Katrina shut in about half of US domestic oil production and knocked out refineries and import terminals, so on 2 September 2005 President Bush found a severe energy supply interruption and ordered a sale. DOE offered 30 million barrels and sold 11 million; the first oil left Bryan Mound on 26 September.
0.61
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
Hidroituango Dam Crisis Forces Mass Evacuation in Colombia
EPMItuango, Antioquia, Colombia
Starts 05/12/2018CONFIRMED 81% CONFIDENCE8.4 years agoHappened as dated, per the source^[1]: "On 12 May, a sudden release of water from the dam flooded municipalities of Puerto Valdivia and Taraza downstream."
A blocked diversion tunnel at Colombia's roughly $4 billion Hidroituango hydroelectric project triggered flooding and landslides that forced thousands of people downstream to evacuate.
$4B
0.60
Energy09/22/2026@EnergyDesk
Trump Orders 172 Million Barrels Out as Hormuz Chokes
US Department of EnergyJames Forrestal Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, D.C. 20585, United States
Starts 03/11/2026CONFIRMED 88% CONFIDENCE196 days agoDOE's press release carries Secretary Wright's statement and is dated 11 March 2026, the day the IEA agreed the collective release.^[1]
Thirty-two IEA member nations agreed on 11 March 2026 to release 400 million barrels between them after Iranian attacks slowed tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. The American share was 172 million barrels, the largest US release ever ordered, and Secretary Wright said it would take about 120 days to deliver.
0.60

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