Trump Considers Drilling Oil Under Military Bases to Refill Reserve

Donald Trump is weighing whether to extract oil from beneath U.S. military bases and other Department of Defense sites to replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which has fallen to approximately 415 million barrels — its lowest level since the mid-1980s. No final decision has been made. The reserve was depleted by a historic drawdown under the Biden administration following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a further 172-million-barrel release authorized by Trump in March during the Iran conflict.

Global oil prices have soared above $100 a barrel, and U.S. gasoline prices have topped $4.50 a gallon on average, driven by Iran's near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz to enemy ships during the ongoing U.S.-Israeli military campaign against Tehran. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the administration needs creative ways to refill the reserve, noting that military bases sit atop untapped oil resources and calling the lack of development crazy. Drilling under bases would let the government own extracted crude directly rather than purchase it from private producers, though it would not immediately lower energy prices. Congress has refused to fund refilling the reserve through purchases.

The administration already set a precedent in September 2025, when it sold drilling rights beneath nearly 2,000 acres at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. That sale now serves as a model for the broader initiative under consideration.