It seems logical to maintain stockpiles of critically important commodities like crude oil, heating oil and gasoline. After all, supply can be cut off suddenly by acts of God or man, causing price spikes, cold houses and empty gas tanks. Worries about supply interruption led to the creation of a federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) and Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve (NEHHOR) and, more recently, both federal and state reserves for motor fuels, again in the Northeast. But does the SPR as currently configured still make sense, given how much has changed in crude production and flows? Should we set up heating oil or motor fuel reserves in regions beyond the Northeast? And what about a strategic reserve for propane—an important fuel for millions of American homes and businesses? Today, we continue our look at the challenges of stockpiling hydrocarbons in a changing, unpredictable energy world.
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